A New World
by ConnorTempleHatterPotts
Summary: Continuing my previous story "A New Twist", we left off with Connor and Abby getting a new flatmate who is their alternate reality self's son. And more mayhem is to come when time and space is disturbed; creating a chaotic slur of future anomalies.
1. Chapter 1

**And, without further ado; I present the sequel to "A New Twist"! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Abby! There's no more hot water!" Mike's familiar American accent called from the bathroom. He'd been staying here for a week now and Abby loved having him around, even if it did make some things a bit harder; he was a teenager and a bit rough around the edges, but he was a good kid despite the things he'd done. But, she didn't know what they were going to do when her and Connor's time off from work was over. Today was their last day of the little "vacation" Lester had given them; she supposed they would have to take Mike to the ARC with them… Lester is going to hate that.

Abby went into the living room and saw Mike coming out of the bathroom, frustrated and hair wet despite the fact he was fully clothed. "Well, Mike there should be hot water; I've not taken a shower yet this morning, I was leaving it for you." Her face got annoyed as she realised why there would be no more hot water. "Connor!" she yelled, half angry.

Connor ran up the steps from the basement, reaching the living room and seeing Mike and Abby standing there. He walked over to Abby, prepared for her to smack him or something with the way she was looking at him. "Yeah, Abs?" She didn't say anything; she just lunged at Connor's head, ruffling his hair unexpectedly. "Uh, Abby… whata ya doin'?" he asked, surprised.

His hair had grown a bit; it was very fluffy, soft, inviting… and exactly as she suspected; wet. She dropped her hands and gave him a disappointed look. "Connor, we agreed not to take showers this morning until Mike had, since the water heater is mucking up and he didn't get any hot water yesterday," she complained.

He looked guilty. "Yeah, I-I remember that. But, Sid knocked over his food bowl on me and Nick spit on me. Plus, I smelled horrible after cleaning up all their messes; I had to wash up." He smiled at her, hoping she wouldn't be upset with him.

"Con, I need to take a shower. I've got a job interview in 2 hours," Mike said. Abby had finally talked him into taking up some responsibility. Mike was a bit of a… punk, to put it nicely. But, to be fair, he's father was an evil bastard and his mom died when he was 6. He'd had a tough life. But, Abby knew it wasn't too late to straighten him out; she would make him a respectable person. And, having Connor around would help him too; he was a like a big brother to Mike, more than anything. Abby thought she noticed Mike trying on some of Connor's fingerless gloves the other day; Mike looked up to Connor and she knew it, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"Look, Mike, mate," Connor's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Just wait about half an hour and you should have enough hot water for a twenty minute shower…"

Mike sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine… but if I'm late I'm blaming you." He pointed a finger at Connor and he threw his hands up as if it was a gun.

Abby laughed and grabbed Mike walking him towards the kitchen saying, "Come on, Mike, I'll get you a cuppa in the mean time."

Connor smiled and hung his head, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, his gloves scratching against the skin. He sat down on the couch and smoothed out his hair that was messy from Abby's attack.

Despite the fact that they had admitted they loved each other, Abby and Connor's relationship hadn't changed much. Perhaps they weren't as teasing with each other as before, but they still teased each other plenty. They were still best mates, and Connor was glad that showing their feeling hadn't made them awkward with each other… but he wanted to be more than just mates.

Abby loved him and he never thought that was even possible; how could someone so amazing, like Abby, love someone like Connor? He couldn't understand it, all he knew is that it was real, however impossible it seemed… it was real.

And however real her love was… the pain he felt when he thought about Dian was all too real as well. His stomach churned as the familiar pain came back to him. He'd tried so hard to forget… he really did. But, it seemed impossible to forget Dian… mind you; it's only been a week since she left. Still, the pain was unbearable. And yet… however unbearable that pain was; Abby seemed to make it better. Perhaps, with time, he could forget about Dian and move on… but he didn't want to. He really didn't want to. He didn't want to forget her… he should have never grown so close to her; he should have listened to her when she said they couldn't be together. But he didn't… and now he was paying for it.

But, he still had Abby to think about. Where was their relationship going? He loved Abby more than anything, but… was that enough?

Connor was broken from his thoughts when Abby walked back into the room. She came over and plopped down on the empty space next to Connor, sighing deeply. He smiled, staring at her beautiful face. After a minute of silence, he suddenly said, "We've been through a lot together… haven't we, Abs?"

She looked up at him, meeting his big brown eyes. "Yeah, I suppose we have." She laughed. "Where did that come from, Connor?"

He broke their gaze. "Oh… no, I was just thinking that's all." He leaned his elbows on his knees and fiddled with his fingerless gloves, biting his bottom lip.

Abby stared at him, wondering. She flicked his ear with her finger, playfully. "Thinking about what, Con?"

He looked at her in the corner of his eye. Then his eyes flicked back down to the floor, but he answered her question straight forward. "About… you... me… us." He took a deep breath; this was all so new to him; talking about his feelings like this with Abby. He didn't mean to, but he started talking rather quickly. "I mean, you said that you-and what I said… I-I just don't know exactly where we stand. And it's like nothing happened, but I know it did; and it did happen, and-"

Abby cut him off, pulling his face to look at her. "Connor… where do you _want_ us to stand?" she asked, staring into his eyes softly. He didn't speak, he just stared at her. She knew where he wanted them to stand. She grabbed the back of his head and pressed her soft lips to his. He reacted much the same as he had the very first time she'd ever kissed him; that day so long ago.

When she pulled away, his face looked much the same as before, as well. She laughed. "I think that's where we stand…" He smiled and she kissed him again. Yes… it was defiantly enough.

Mike walked in the room, his eyebrows shooting up as he saw Abby and Connor kissing. He cleared his throat, making them pull apart quickly and look at him. He smiled and laughed a little. "Hey, Con… remind me to rag on you about how pathetic you look when you're kissing. I mean seriously, dude… you're just like," He made a mocking imitation and laughed.

Connor looked awkward. He cleared his throat. "Don't you have a thing a get to or something?"

Mike laughed harder. "Doesn't _Abby_?"

"Oh, for crying- SHUT UP!" Connor said in a high-pitched pleading kind of voice.

Abby got up off the couch and pushed Mike towards the bathroom. "Go take your shower, Mike."

"Alright, alright; I'm going, I'm going." He was still laughing when he shut the door behind him.

Abby turned back to Connor and gave him an awkward smile. Then she said, "I for one think you're a great kisser." She laughed at the look on his face when she said that. She went over and sat next to him again, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Connor."

He suddenly thought of Dian… he froze, not able to speak. Abby had no idea what had happened between them; she didn't know that he had feelings for her or what had happened between them on this very couch… was he ever going to stop thinking about Dian? He tried to snap out of it and reply to Abby's affection. "I-I… love you, too," he managed to spurt out. Luckily Abby hadn't noticed the hesitation. He sighed inwardly. _Dian… _he thought. Closing his eyes, he tried not to show the pain he was feeling, to Abby.

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**The next Chapters should be longer, and more will happen in Chpt. 2.**

**Thank you for reading! Review please... Review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

A white wall was all she could see… and she wasn't even really seeing it. No, the only thing she _could_ see was Connor's face. She held on to the very last memory of him… every night for the past week she laid in bed, unable to sleep, with her eyes closed, mentally tracing the image of his face; trying hard not to let the image fade. But, she knew that, with time, the memory of him would fade, and she'll only be able to remember his face as a blur.

Dian sat at the kitchen table of her flat. She had once loved this flat; she and Alex had moved in together 2 weeks after they'd gotten engaged, and she was the happiest person alive. Her life couldn't have been more perfect back then… so it's no wonder something had to come along and muck it all up. Life was _never_ simple, and would never let you be truly happy; you always have to make sacrifices. But now… she knew she would never be as happy as she had been six years ago. She had changed. And, to be honest, she thought Alex had changed too.

"Dian, do you want some-" Alex cut off as he rounded the corner and walked into the kitchen, seeing Dian sitting there, staring at the wall. He walked over to her slowly, his eyes narrowed. "You alright, Dian?"

He put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched, snapping out of her daze. She looked up at him, confused. "What? Um… Yeah, yeah… I'm, uh… I'm fine." She shook her head, trying to focus back to reality. "What were you saying?"

He looked at her with worried eyes. "Just wanted to know if you wanted a cup of tea… you look like you could use it. Are you sure you're alright? You've been kind of out of it for the past week; ever since we came back through that anomaly."

She looked into his dark chocolate eyes… they reminded her of Connor. She closed her eyes and replied, "Yes… I'm fine. I just need-" she broke off and started over. "Tea; yes, that would be lovely, Alex." She smiled as best she could. He just rubbed her shoulder, smiled slightly and then left to get her some tea.

Dian let her head fall down onto the table in defeat.

* * *

Cutter sat in his office at Area 51, looking over the blueprints Jason Hale had made for Alex's "upgrade", as he called it. He didn't like it one bit. Alex had been turned into some sort of weapon, not that Cutter cared so much about Alex himself, it's just that the thought of anyone having this done to them repulsed him. "How could you do this, Jason?" he whispered to himself.

"I had no choice." Cutter looked up, surprised to see Jason standing in the doorway. He walked in the room a little further, approaching Cutter's desk. "You know what they would have done to me if I had of refused, Nick. Besides… this is a major technological advancement for us! Doing this to Mr. Winchester has allowed us to see how to do similar things to other people. We can give people better lives… instant knowledge, for instance. We could implant these computers into people's heads and we could know everything that mankind knows!

It's evolution, Nick. The human race must evolve, and Area 51 knows that." He saw the shocked look on Cutter's face. Sighing, Jason sat in the nearest chair. "Now, Nick… don't get me wrong; I hate this place as much as you do. But, I simply am able to see the little good it has in it."

Cutter shook his head, eyes narrowed. "There's no good in Area 51, Jason, and you know that. All we've ever done here is destroy-"

"No, Nick!" he interrupted. "Think about what we've accomplished! The anomalies for instance-"

"You seem to forget, Jason!" Cutter stood up quickly, burning with anger. "The anomalies were our doing as well," he whispered harshly. "When we recruited Helen Cutter into our army 12 years ago, that doomed us all. She created the rift in time and space that created the anomalies. We may not have known until now… but it's true and you know it just as well as I! And now where is my ex-wife? Hm?"

He waited for Jason to reply, but he only looked at the wall, avoiding eye contact. "She's somewhere in time, mucking about and disrupting all that was and ever will be! It's our fault, Jason! We caused this!" He paused, taking a deep breath and regaining his calm. "And now… we have to fix it."

* * *

Connor moved uncomfortably on the couch, hissing in pain every once in a while when his cuts hurt. He'd been in therapy for the past week and had gain back most mobility with his arms; the cuts hadn't been deep enough to disable him completely. So, he could move, and sometimes re-bandage himself, but… that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

Plus, the burn on his shoulder was healing, but he had a very hard time sleeping at night. He'd barely slept at all the past week. And now Lester wanted them to come back to work tomorrow… but, that's what Abby was currently doing; trying to convince Lester to understand that Connor wasn't going to be able to come back for at least another 2 weeks.

"Look, Lester; Connor has made a lot of improvement, but he's nowhere near ready to go back to work!" Abby was saying.

_We can only manage the anomalies without you two for so long._ Connor heard Lester's voice say over the phone. _Danny's working harder than I ever thought possible, and Becker… well, Becker is having no problems, but I've had to sacrifice some of my other men to go out monster hunting with them. I need Sarah back here at the ARC, as well; not chasing the anomalies._

She thought for a moment. "How about I just come back, then?"

"Abby, no!" Connor yelled at her. "I'm fine, really. You shouldn't have to go back on your own. I'll-"

"Sh!" she hushed him, as she listened to Lester on the phone. Connor couldn't hear what he was saying anymore because Abby had moved into the kitchen. All he heard next was her saying, "Okay, thank you, Lester." And then she hung up and came back into the living room. She gave him an uneasy smile. "You're off the hook for two more weeks. But…" She paused, not wanting to say what she was about to.

"What, Abby?" he asked quickly, his heart starting to beat faster; thinking it was something horrible.

"He said I have to bring Mike. Lester wants him to fill in for you."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Is that all? Jeez, Abby, I thought it was going to be like a life or death thing…"

"Is that all? Connor, our job is a very dangerous one! Mike is only 16; he shouldn't have to do this job, it's far too dangerous for him," she explained.

"What's far too dangerous for who?" Mike asked, coming out into the living room, his blonde hair sleeked back nicely for the interview he'd been to only 40 minutes ago; he had Connor's mad hair, and Abby's blonde color… but something always seemed a bit off about him. Something seemed to just not fit... Abby couldn't place it though.

"Um… Mike? How would you like to come work with us at the ARC? Just until Connor is fit to come back, that is," she added quickly.

"And work with the anomalies again? No way! I've had enough of those things!" he said, outraged that she would even have asked him that.

"Mike," Abby looked at Connor and then walked to Mike, whispering Connor couldn't hear. "It's the only way Connor is going to be able to have more time to recover. I don't want you working there either, but Con needs to heal before he can go back. Do it for him, yeah?"

He looked at Connor who was leaning forward, trying to hear what they were saying. Mike sighed. "Fine… I'll go."

Abby smiled and hugged him. "Okay, so everything's settled. Who's hungry?"

"Me!" Connor and Mike both yelled at the same time.

"Men…" Abby exclaimed, heading for the kitchen. "They are always hungry."

* * *

"Dian, are you going to ever get up from that chair?" Alex was asking while he put dishes into the dish washer; something that Dian hadn't been doing, so it laid back on him to do it.

"I don't know… I'm thinking about moving over to the couch or the bed, but maybe not…" she mumbled through her arm as her mouth rested on it while she slumped against the kitchen table still.

She was expecting some remark about how it was unhealthy to sit around all day from Alex, but instead she heard a dish hit the floor, shattering. She looked up; Alex was standing there, frozen, his feet bleeding slightly from the plate shatters. "Alex? Are you okay?" She got up and went to him, turning him to face.

He screamed in pain and hunched forward, holding his head as it throbbed in pain. His eyes flashed and he saw the pictures again; this time he saw the future technology that Area 51 had taken into the present. He saw the anomalies and how they worked, he saw how the device that opened anomalies worked, and he saw everything about the whole anomaly operation.

He fell limp against the linoleum floor as the vision ended. When he regained his hearing, he heard Dian screaming his name and she was shaking him… but he didn't care.

He opened his eyes; they were as white as paper. Dian flinched when she saw his eyes. "Alex?"

His face was expressionless. He simply stood up, his hands crushing into the shards of plate on the floor, causing him to bleed, but he didn't react. He headed for the front door like a robot. "Alex? Alex?" Dian followed him, trying to get him to stop moving, but he didn't; he kept going. He went to the car and got in, not caring that Dian did too.

Somehow he'd managed enough conscience to drive them to Area 51. Walking into the building, he went straight to a room signed "experimental tech". All the while, Dian followed him. She stood there and watched as he fiddled with random pieces of technology in the room, like a robot; his eyes still white and his face still expressionless.

She approached him as he worked. "Alex?" she said, looking at him. He took no notice of her. His hands flew about, mashing different technology together; wiring wires together, welding things in place. She waited. Eventually he finished, standing in silence for a moment, staring at the small machine he had created. Dian was about to say something when he cranked one of the knobs and pushed a button on the machine, making it emit a bright light that got brighter and brighter until it exploded, sending both Alex and Dian flying against the walls.

Cutter was still speaking with Jason when he heard a loud "boom" come from outside his office. "What the hell was that?" he said getting out of the chair and running out the door. There was smoke in the corridor, coming from the tech room. He entered the room, coughing at the thick fog of smoke that clouded the area.

He spotted Dian when the smoke had cleared a bit. "Dian!" He yelled, running to her. "Dian are you alright? Sweetie? Can you hear me?" He shook her, and she rustled, opening her eyes. "What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know… Alex," she stated, peering over at where he'd flown against the opposite wall.

Cutter helped her stand. She went over to Alex, and shook him. He opened his eyes quickly; they were dark chocolate brown again. He looked around wildly. "What happened?" he asked, frantic.

"It's okay; everything's okay."

"Actually, I wouldn't say that…" Cutter stated and pointed into the thick fog. Dian squinted, trying to see what he saw. Then she saw it… a cluster of 5 or so anomalies in the middle of the big room. But, that was far from all. Dian heard screaming come from outside and they all rushed out of the room, seeing about a hundred more anomalies about the entire building. Not only that, but there were also about a hundred future predators flocking about, attacking all the screaming people; blood flying as they swarmed the building.

"What have you done, Alex?" Dian said, terrified, her heart pounding as she watched all those people being slaughtered.

"Get back in the room!" Cutter yelled, pulling her back through the door, Alex coming too, and shut it behind him. Of course, that didn't help much… the five anomalies in the room shimmered, and what came out of them was enough to send Hitler, screaming like a baby, back to his mum…

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**TBC in chapter 3!**

**Yay, it's only the second chapter and already there's a cliff-hanger. :)**

**Please review! There's much surprise to come in chpt 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a really great chapter, if I do say so myself. :) Enjoy!**

**Random Disclaimer: I own nothing but a few characters. I don't own primeval. Thanks very much.**

* * *

It almost looked human… almost. There were three of them that came out of the anomalies. They stood on their back legs, standing about 12 feet tall, hunched forward. Their fingers turned into something like claws, and their hair almost like a Lion's mane. This must have be what's left of the human race... they evolved into monsters.

The creatures snapped and nipped at each other. Then they sniffed the air and bared sharp teeth at Dian, Cutter, and Alex; one of the creatures falling down onto its front legs, crouching into a stalking position.

Dian's heart raced; she knew that any moment she could be killed. Still, she wasn't going to give up without a fight. But, all she could manage to think was, "What do we do?" and that's what she said.

Cutter was the one to reply, while Alex obviously had no clue. "We disappear," he stated, looking at Alex. "Alex, you can teleport us out of here," he said.

Alex stared at him in disbelief. "What? No I can't."

"You can! I saw it in the blueprints; your mind can open anomalies, Alex, it's even simpler to teleport. You have to try! Now!" Cutter yelled at him.

Alex tried to concentrate; Cutter held onto Dian and Alex put his arms around both of them, shutting his eyes and imagining them outside the building. He heard the creatures screech and their feet thudding hard against the floor as they ran towards Alex and the others… And then he heard silence. Was he dead? Had it been that quick? He didn't dare open his eyes…

* * *

After they'd eaten, it was about 10pm. Mike went off to bed, leaving Connor and Abby watching the "Star Trek" movie that was on. Of course, Mike and Connor were the ones that wanted to watch it; Abby had let them even though it bored her to death. Especially since she didn't speak Vulcan and both Mike and Connor were conversing in it…

Abby looked at Connor, who was engrossed in the movie. She slipped her fingers through his, holding his hand. He looked over at her, surprised for a moment. He smiled, his eyes shining. She smiled back at him and laid her head on his shoulder, sighing contently; not even caring that she hated the movie they were watching. She was just happy she was here with Connor.

The phone rang, making them both jump, startled. Abby laughed, and patted Connor on the knee. "I'll get it," she said standing up and walking towards the phone. She answered to the sound of Lester trying to speak over a whooshing sound in the background. It sounded like… an anomaly, but it was so _loud_.

_Abby! I think there's something you and Connor both will want to come see!_ He was shouting over the noise. _Come to the ARC, quickly!_

She didn't have much time to speak before he hung up. She hung up the phone and went back to Connor, who smiled at her as she re-entered the room. "We've got to go to the ARC, something's wrong. Lester said you'd want to come too. Are you feeling well enough?"

His heart sank a bit. Of _course_ work would have to interfere with a perfect night like this… "Uh, yeah. I'm good to go there for a while," he said, regardless of how much he didn't want to go. "Just let me get dressed." He got up and headed for his room.

"Do you want any help? I know it hurts for you to move your arms too much," Abby said quickly.

"No, no… I'm fine, really." He stopped dead in his tracks when he reached his room and shut the door behind him… had he really just declined Abby's suggestion for her to dress him? He almost wanted to go back and tell her that he did need her help after all, but he decided against it.

They got in the car and drove off, not wanting to wake Mike; they just left a note in case he woke up wondering where they'd gone.

They got to the ARC, and immediately after they opened the front doors, they heard the loud sound of anomalies, like booming music. They covered their ears to dull the sound. Looking around, they saw hundreds of anomalies floating in the air. The place was empty of people and it looked like it'd been ransacked by wolves.

"Hello?" Connor yelled over the noise.

"SH!" came the response. It was Becker. He came cautiously from the hall door. He was heavily armed and looked like he was ready to take on world war 3. He swiftly grabbed Connor and Abby, leading them quickly into the hallway and shoving them into a room, locking the door when they were all inside. He bolted the door shut, tight.

Everyone else was in the room as well; Lester, Sarah, Danny, and a few others that worked at the ARC, including a bunch of the other soldiers. "What's goin' on?" Connor asked, stupefied by the huddled mass of terrified people. Becker and a few of the other soldiers were the only ones not looking terrified; they looked prepared and ready for a fight.

Becker put a hand on Connor's shoulder. "We were attacked by future predators earlier," he explained. "These anomalies just came out of nowhere. From what we can tell, they are all future anomalies, and it's only a matter of time before more future predators come through them. Or something even worse…"

"That's why you have to figure out a way to close them all," Lester said, referring to Connor.

"What? Have you seen all those things? There's got to be at least a hundred anomalies out there! I can't lock them all, are you crazy?"

"Connor can't do anything, anyway. He's in no condition," Abby defended him.

Connor's eyes narrowed and he stared at Abby, who didn't notice. He was sick of Abby thinking he was so vulnerable and that he couldn't do anything. His ego got the best of him. "I'll get to work on building a device that can close all the anomalies," he said to Lester.

"What? Connor, you are in no condition-" Abby started, but he cut her off.

"I'm fine, Abby." He walked out of the room, Becker in front of him and two other soldiers following around him to protect him as he went out into the open hallway, then he headed down to the room where they kept the anomaly locking device. He stopped in front of the door, turning to Becker and the other soldiers. "Stay outside the door and keep watch… in case something happens," he said as an excuse. They nodded.

He closed the door behind him and pulled out the small device that opened anomalies, from his bag. He remember when he first saw this thing… the first day he saw Dian; when she was laying, wounded, in front of that anomaly. Even then she looked beautiful.

He snapped out of it and inspected the device. It closed anomalies too, but the question was: could it close more than one anomaly at a time? He set to work opening the device to see its electronic make-up and determine what it was capable of.

* * *

When Alex opened his eyes, everything went black for a moment like the blood was rushing from his head too quickly. When his vision cleared, he saw pavement as he stared at the ground. When he looked up and looked around; they were outside the building, safe from those creatures… for now.

He smiled and laughed, relieved and adrenaline pumping. Dian looked at him and he smiled wide at her. Her face was completely serious, and then she striked him across the face with her hand. Alex yelled in pain. "What did you do that for?"

"Did you see all those people being killed, Alex?" she wailed at him, her face a mix of anger and mourn. "You killed them! What the hell were you thinking! Your own sister was in there! Alex, they are all dead! How could you do that?" Cutter grabbed her, holding her as she sobbed and kept her from hitting Alex again.

Alex blinked, taken aback. He hadn't thought about it. He stuttered a few times. He couldn't say anything, really. Then he looked at the building, the reality of everything hitting him like a rock. He staggered backwards and fell onto his knees. "Lauren," he whispered.

Screaming came from the building and then the front doors opened, a few people running from the building; some of them carrying injured people. Some of them were injured themselves.

The three of them ran over to the survivors. One of them grabbed Cutter's shoulders and quickly explained. "The doors are all on automatic lockdown. Those things shouldn't be able to get out, sir." He was breathing heavily. "I shot as many as I could, sir. I saved as people as I could. Please forgive me, sir; I couldn't save many of them. I-I'm sorry, sir." This soldier was only a kid; he was a trainee and he was only 18 and he'd just risked his life to save these people.

"It's alright, soldier. You did well," Cutter assured him, patting him on the shoulder and moving to the others. One of the injured people was another young soldier, about 19 years old. Both legs had been torn off and his face was ripped up badly. He'd lost so much blood and was barely still alive. Cutter kneeled next to him. "Can you hear me, kid?"

The soldier twitched and shook uncontrollably. He looked at cutter, blood coming from his mouth. "I don't wanna die, sir. I don't want to die!" was all he said.

Cutter swallowed hard. "It's okay, soldier. You're not going to die. I won't let you die. I promise you're going to be okay." The two medical staff that had survived were working on his wounds and the ambulance drove up, carrying out a stretcher for the wounded. Cutter looked at the kid and smiled. "See, you're gonna be alright, soldier. Don't worry."

"Please… I don't want to die!" he yelled, crying. He coughed, blood spurting from his mouth.

"Hey! Hey, stay with me, kid!" Cutter yelled at him. But, it was too late… The kid's eyes rolled back and he laid there, limp and lifeless. Cutter stuck his fingers on his neck, but got no pulse. He clenched his jaw and hung his head. Then he regarded the others. "Did anyone know his name?"

Everyone was silent… no one even knew the soldier's name, and he died working for Area 51. Cutter nodded at the ambulance, indicating for them to take away the body. He slowly stood up and watched as the ambulance was taking care of all the injured people.

But, this wasn't over; they still had to somehow get rid of all the anomalies and the creatures that were trapped in the building. 'How?' was the question.

"Nick?" Cutter turned around and saw Jason, aside from bleeding a little bit on his arm from a scratch, he was fine.

"Oh, Jason! You're okay." He smiled and shook his hand. "I thought they'd gotten you."

Jason's face was solemn. "Nick, this is it… the end of the human race."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw the future one time. The end of the world. Where nothing but the future predators and other future creatures survived. They all took over the world and we were all killed. And, this is how it starts, Nick. This is the beginning of the end of the human race. We caused it…"

Cutter didn't say anything; he just turned around, immediately noticing that Dian was gone. He looked around but she wasn't there. "Dian? Dian!" he searched frantically but there was no sign of her.

He ran to one of the survivors. "When does that automatic lockdown happen?"

"It should have already locked down about two minutes ago, sir."

"Someone could have gone back in before that though?"

"Well, yes sir, but why would anyone do that?"

"Dammit!" he swore, running back to the front of the building and pulled on the doors, but they were sealed tight and made of metal. He banged desperately on the doors.

Alex ran up to him. "Why would she go back in? That's suicide."

"Because she wouldn't care if she died! She would try to go through one of those anomalies just to see if it led her back to that alternate reality!"

"But, why!"

"Because she was in love with that idiot! She would rather die than not try to go back to him!" He continued to bang on the doors frantically.

* * *

Connor was still working with the device when he heard a loud scream from outside. He put the last pieces of the device back together and ran out of the room. "What's going on?" he asked Becker.

"I don't know. Someone's in trouble."

"Yeah, I got that," Connor said. They ran down the hall and carefully opened the door to the main room, where the anomalies were. Immediately they spotted a person on the ground and a future predator about to attack them.

Becker and the other soldiers shot at the creature, quickly and swiftly killing it. They covered Connor as he ran over to the person on the ground. When he got closer, he realised it was a woman. Then he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who it was… "Dian!" he yelled kneeling next to her. She was bleeding, but never-the-less okay.

She smiled at him, unable to move because of her wounds. "Connor… I've missed you."

He laughed and looked at her wounded arm and leg. "Must we keep meeting like this?" They both laughed.

"Come on, we've got to get her out of here!" Becker said.

Connor didn't notice him, he just stared at Dian. Then his face fell when he heard the familiar clicking sound of a future predator. His heart stopped and he swallowed hard, looking up from Dian and seeing the creature nearly 3 feet away from them. He tried to control his heartbeat, which did some good; the creature didn't go for him, it unexpectedly jumped at one of the ARC soldiers, the others shooting at it frantically, but unsuccessfully. It killed two of the soldiers, and one of them ran away, leaving only Becker who was slung across the room by the creature. It started moving towards where it'd flung Becker.

Connor stood up quickly, and not thinking, he threw a large metal plate at the future predator, hitting it in the head. It clicked angrily at him. "Oh no," he stated and ran the opposite direction as fast as he could, the creature gaining on him. He reached the ADD, thinking on his feet. He stood there and waited for the creature to be within inches of him… he then jumped straight to the side and the creature plundered into the ADD, screeching as it was electrocuted with immense electricity.

Connor's eyes were wide and his heart was thudding so hard against his ribs that it hurt. The creature was dead though. But he was frozen where he stood.

"Connor!" Dian yelled, limping towards him. "Connor we have to shut the anomalies!" She was almost pleading.

He reached into his vest and pulled out the device. He held his breath and pushed the buttons, closing his eyes.

It suddenly got quieter. He peeled one eye open and saw nothing… nothing but the destroyed ARC. He laughed threw a hand into the air. "WHOO! Ha-ha!" he exclaimed. "We did it!"

Dian hugged him. "_You_ did it, Connor." The moment didn't last long.

A familiar voice came from behind them. "Dian, what were you thinking coming here?" The voice wasn't so much angry as worried.

Connor froze when he heard the man speak. He turned around, eyes wider than before. He almost flinched when he saw the man's face. To Dian, it was one of the soldiers from Area 51; one of their best soldiers and the brother to the young 18 year old soldier who'd saved most of those people. But, to Connor… he was someone completely different. "Oh my God… Stephen!"

* * *

Alex sat in the grass outside Area 51, thinking Dian was defiantly dead. Cutter came up to him, defeated. Alex saw a tear roll down his eye, but he didn't care about Cutter; he cared about Dian. He laughed a single humourless laugh. "She was pregnant, you know…" He nodded his head to himself. "I got a call from the doctor yesterday. She'd apparently gone without telling me, and he told me she was pregnant." He started sobbing.

What he didn't know, was that the baby Dian was carrying… wasn't his. It was Connor's…

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 4!**

**So, yeah... very exciting stuff! :D**

**Next chapter, we will figure out what this "thing" is about Mike.**

**Please let me know what you think and review! Hope you are enjoying it!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Stephen, mate! Jeez," Connor couldn't quite get the words out. He just stuttered a bit and eventually gave up. He didn't care that Stephen was looking at him like he was a nutter; Connor just laughed and hugged him, which startled the soldier.

Connor pulled back, smiling. "Rahhh," he exclaimed animatedly, a cheeky smile on his face. He noticed the way Dian and Stephen were staring at him. His smile didn't fade, though; he just said, "What?" in the very typical Connor way.

"Dian, who is the man? And why did he just hug me?"

"1st Lieutenant Stephen Hart, this is Connor Temple," Dian introduced the two. She hobbled as best she could over to Connor's side, leaning against him for support. "Connor is a bit… affectionate." She laughed. "And, uh… he apologizes for hugging you. It's just, you obviously are someone he knew in this universe, you see?"

Stephen nodded. "Yes Ma'am; I understand. Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

"Of course, Stephen." Although Stephen was one of the highest soldiers at area 51, he always thought of Dian as a much higher authority. Obviously because of her father and the position he held as a soldier… but Dian never liked the way the soldiers treated her as such.

"Thank you ma'am." He turned his attention to Connor. "If I might ask; what was your acquaintance with my alternate? Who was he, and why do you act as if you've not seen him for years?"

Connor's face turned solemn. "Well… ya know, let's just say he, uh… had an accident. He sacrificed his life to save someone he cared about…" His thoughts immediately went to Cutter, and as always, he thought about the day Cutter died in Connor's presence. He forced himself not to think about it. "Look, I don't want to talk about any of this. Um… we should fix Dian's arm and leg, anyway."

"Of course," the soldier succumbed. They walked Dian into the ARC's "Health care and management" room… or so Lester liked to call it. All it really was was a small room with a hospital bed shoved in the middle of it and a light stuck above that. They had a personal doctor hired for the team there, but it wasn't much.

"Ow!" Dian complained when Dr. Morgan Scott, the ARC's personal doctor, stuck a needle into her arm.

Connor stood in the corner, trying not to faint from seeing that needle. Stephen stayed next to the bed and watched over everything Dr. Scott was doing.

"Excuse me; could you not breathe down my neck please?" Dr. Scott directed at Stephen.

Connor looked pale when he turned and talked to them. "Stephen, why don't you go fill everyone in on what's happened? The next room over; talk to James Lester, yeah?"

Stephen looked directly to Dian. "Ma'am?"

She nodded. "Yes; go… I'll be fine."

He nodded once, reluctantly, and left the room. This obviously pleased Dr. Scott. "Connor, come hold Dian's hand… this is going to hurt her."

"What?" Connor's face went paler when he saw the large needle Dr. Scott pulled out and prepared.

"I need to give her a muscle relaxant; some of the damage done to her leg has torn the muscle and tissue. This should help to relax the muscle as well as relieve a bit of the pain." He finished preparing the liquid in the needle and motion for Connor to come to Dian's side, and he slowly did so. "This is going to hurt more than the last shot, I'm afraid, but it will quickly subside. Just, hold her hand, Connor… sometimes it comforts patients." He smiled reassuringly. "Now, drop your pants."

Dian laughed, but did as she was told. Connor automatically turned his head away awkwardly. But, he held her hand when she took his hand in hers.

Dr. Scott was just about to put the needle into her thigh when she grabbed his hand to stop him and yelled, "Wait!" which, in automatic reaction, made Connor look and he naturally blushed and looked down at the floor; he was still just as awkward as if they'd never done what they'd done, although that fact only made him blush more at the moment.

"What is it?" Dr. Scott inquired to Dian.

"Um…" She leaned forward and whispered in his ear; not wanting Connor to hear that she was making sure the medicine wouldn't harm her baby. Although she didn't know yet if she was pregnant, she wouldn't take the chance.

After she explained to Dr. Scott, he smiled and said, "Yes, yes it will be fine. And, congratulations to that."

Dian smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"Congratulations to what?" Connor said, not looking up from the floor. Obviously he'd seen Dian in her underwear around the flat all the time when she was living there… but having had intercourse with her had made it awkward for him. It was just a dorky, Connor thing.

"Nothing!" Dian said quickly. "Just… give me the shot and let's get this over with." She held Connor's hand again and Dr. Scott pushed the needle into her leg quickly. He was right; it did hurt, but not for long. Almost immediately she felt the effects.

"Sit down," Dr. Scott directed, helping her up on the bed's edge.

She pulled her trousers back on and sat on the edge of the bed. She laughed upon seeing Connor still looking at the floor. "Oi, Connor… it's okay, I'm decent again."

He looked at her and blushed again. "Sorry…"

Dr. Scott looked back and forth from them for a moment and then said, "Okay. I'll leave you two alone for a bit. I'll just go and get some raps and such for the wounds." He then left, and almost immediately after, was preceded by Stephen who came back into the room.

"Stephen. Did you fill Lester in on everything?" Dian asked.

"I did. His men are cleaning up right now, from the predator's attack." He paused for moment, looking at Connor and then he looked back to Dian. "Might I have a word with you, ma'am… alone?"

"Oh… yeah, yeah. Uh, Connor, you don't mind, do you?"

"No, that's fine… I'll just go…" He gestured to the door but didn't finish the sentence, just walked out the door.

Stephen walked to the bed. "Permission to-"

"Yes," she interrupted, knowing what he was going to say.

He nodded once. "Ma'am, I would like to know if it's true… what Mr. Winchester told me yesterday."

She didn't understand. "And what did Alex tell you?"

"That… you were… pregnant, ma'am."

She froze. "What?" she whispered. "How… how did he know?"

"So… it's true?"

"How did he know?" she repeated.

"He told me the doctor called your flat and told him, ma'am."

She was upset that Alex knew, but at the same time she was excited about the fact that her suspicions had been confirmed. She was pregnant. But, what really made things complicated, was that it couldn't possibly be Alex's… which meant it was Connor's. How was she going to tell him? The whole reason she'd left was so he could be with Abby… but how was that going to work if Dian was carrying his child? So… maybe she shouldn't tell him. She swallowed hard, her face evidently worried.

"Are you alright, Dian?" Stephen asked.

"Fine," she lied. But she defiantly wasn't fine… she had a lot to sort out.

* * *

"Cutter! Cutter, snap out of it!" Jason was yelling, trying to get Cutter back to reality as he zoned out when Alex told him Dian was pregnant.

"She was pregnant… and now she's gone…"

Jason couldn't stand to see Cutter like this. "Maybe she's not, Nick. Perhaps she managed to get through an anomaly that wasn't overrun by predators."

"And what are the chances of that, Jason? Slim to NONE! Stop being a fool! There's no way she could have survived that!" He tried not to cry, but there was no stopping it; he'd just lost his daughter.

Jason was willing to suggest anything to make Cutter feel better. "Nick… I've had successful DNA construction before. Perhaps… perhaps I could take-"

Cutter grabbed him by the shirt in anger. "What are you suggesting, Jason! That we make a clone of my daughter! Don't you dare bring your scientific shit into this! Leave it be, Jason… just don't! Alright?" He dropped him and sat on the brick wall that lined the pavement and the grass. He wanted to get his mind thinking about something else; anything else. "What do you mean you've had successful DNA construction before? When?"

"A while back… about 16 years ago, when I helped Abby Maitland and Connor Temple with their problem."

"What?" The mere mention of Connor's name angered Cutter, but he didn't understand what Jason was talking about.

"Well… they came to me 16 years ago. Mr. Temple and I had once been friends and he knew he could trust me. They said they couldn't conceive a child. Or rather… Ms. Maitland couldn't. So I took DNA from both of them and did an experimental construction of the two DNA's. For the most part it worked perfectly. Only… something went a bit wrong. Not that it had much effect on the child, but…"

"What?" Cutter prodded.

"Well, didn't you ever notice how Michael Temple had green eyes?"

"So…?"

"Well, Nick… Connor had Brown and Abby had Blue; it's not scientifically possible for their child to have green eyes. I suspected it was a bit of genetic mutation, but it didn't seem to have an adverse affect on the child, so I made no bother of it…"

"But, you're saying that you basically _created_ Mike Temple?"

"In a way… yes. But, he's still flesh and blood human, at any rate."

Cutter was thinking about the whole thing when he heard a gun cock and a lot of rustling as Alex armed himself. "What are you doing, Winchester?"

"Fixing what I created. I won't sit around while my doing destroys the rest of the human race." He paused and then held a gun to Jason's head. "But first… you tell me why I did this. You did this to my head; so you must know why the hell I would do something like this!"

"I-I Don't know. I would guess that there is something in Area 51's database that would have shown something to do with the future anomalies and how we were working with them. And something must have triggered your reaction to do what you did… but I honestly have no idea!"

A growl formed deep in Alex's throat and he cocked the gun. "Alex!" Cutter yelled at him. "This will not solve anything."

"No… but it'll make me feel a hell of a lot better…" His finger instinctively pulled back on the trigger a little. "Don't worry… you'll be next."

"Alex!" Cutter grabbed his arm, attempting to pull the gun away, but Alex shifted the gun to his head, instead.

"Or maybe you'd like to be first!" His eyes turned white, his finger sliding back to pull the trigger… and nothing, not even his conscience now, to stop him from killing Cutter right then and there…

* * *

The anomaly shimmered, exposing her to the cold and damp elements of present-day London. Her long hair blew in the cold wind. "Well, well… looks like we made back after all," she said in a menacing and familiar voice. "Back to where it all starts…" She walked a little ways, heading to the large building in front of her… heading to the ARC…

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 5!**

**Please Review... review are gold! **

**Can anyone guess who the mysterious "she" is that just got the ending cliff-hanger all to herself? Hmm? Anyone? Anyone at all? :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Connor was starting to feel the effects of all the movement he'd been doing. His arms were getting stiff and the pain was getting worse. He'd taken some painkillers, but it wasn't taking effect. Walking down the hallway of the ARC, he cringed at the pain on his chest that ran down to his waist. The X that C. had cut into him was the hardest to deal with. It being partly on his stomach and on the front of his shoulders, the wound kept reopening a lot which caused a lot of bleeding. C. was dead, but there was no way Connor could forget the scars he'd left.

He flinched at the pain that shot through the cut on his stomach, his hand pressing against it automatically. He groaned in agony and stopped walking, slumping forward. Connor knew he needed to get some rest, but Lester had just instructed him to fix the A.D.D. and if he didn't then Lester might possibly do more harm to him than the cuts were…

Trying to straighten himself up to stand straight, Connor only made the pain worse. He almost yelled in agony, and felt bile pull up from his stomach at the immensity of the pain. He swallowed it back and whined helplessly. Then he heard Dian run down the hallway to him saying, "Connor? Connor, are you okay?" She was at his side in a minute, putting her arm around his waist and pulling him up before he collapsed to the floor. He yelled at the pain that hit him yet again; this time, with the force of Dian's arm pressing into the wound, his body couldn't take the agony. He blacked out.

* * *

Connor slowly came back into consciousness. He felt the soft touch of thin fingers run down his chest, sending a shiver through him. His eyes flew open, seeing Dian standing at the side of the hospital bed he was in.

She smiled at Connor. "Hey, you're awake. I was just looking at your cuts. You should give them time to heal better before moving around too much." Pulling out the bandages, she started covering the wounds back up with fresh material.

Connor leaned his head back and clenched his jaw, fighting the feeling he got from Dian's touch. He liked it way too much when she pulled the lining of his pants down enough so she could bandage the part of the wound that was there. Closing his eyes, he tried not to think about it; obviously unsuccessfully, because he heard Dian laughing.

"Really, Con?" She shook her head, but was smiling. "Looks like you're feeling better. But, seriously, I thought you and I were past this, Connor. I thought we were past all that sexual tension." She looked down at his pants. "Obviously not. Right."

He was blushing. "Sorry…" he said.

She laughed again. "It's fine." Pausing, she looked at his face, which had turned dark red. "Uh… Connor, I know this probably isn't the best time to tell you, but… well, it's about that night we spent together when Abby was out of town…"

He blushed even more and even smiled slightly. But Dian was entirely serious, and when he noticed the way her face looked, his smile went away. "You… you don't regret it, do you?" he asked in a small voice.

"No, no… I-I love you, Connor and I don't regret what we did. It's just… it was kind of on an impulse and we didn't really think it through, you know."

"Yeah. I'm sorry… I know I pressured you into it. You know I'm not like that; I didn't mean to seem as if… I was taking advantage of you or anythin'."

"No, Connor, it's not that," she tried to explain. He was beating himself up over this when he did nothing wrong. Sighing, she decided to just tell him straight up. "I-I'm… I'm pregnant, Connor." The air was thick as silence preceded those words. She couldn't bring herself to look Connor in the eye, so she just waited for a response.

She bit her lip, waiting nervously. Almost two minutes went by before she felt Connor's familiar gloved hand rap around her own. She looked up at his face, surprised by the affection. His eyes were sympathetic and thoughtful, although she could see the evident fear hiding there as well, but he did have a small smile on his face. He looked happy and frightened at the same time… as she could have very well expected from him.

Dian smiled and stroked Connor's hand with her thumb, at the same time, a tear running down her cheek. She was just as frightened as Connor was, probably more… but so happy at the same time. She worked up the courage to speak. "So, I guess the question is now… do _you_ regret what happened?"

He laughed as if it was a ridiculous question. "Never. I mean, I know this is complicated, but… It's not a bad thing is it? You are gonna have the baby, of course... right?"

"Of course! Absolutely," she said quickly. "I wouldn't dream of not. Connor, whether you want to help me raise this child or not… I'm still going to have it, and love it… no matter what, I would _never_ think of not going through with having this baby."

Connor smiled. "Good. I do want to help raise it as the father… if that's alright with you, of course. I mean… I'm probably not goin' to be the best father. Not really the best role model for a kid, but…"

"Connor, it's just as much yours as it is mine. It _is_ your baby; of course I want you to be a part of its life." She paused for moment. "…and mine, too. I want you to be a part of my life, Con."

He laughed again. "I never wanted you to leave in the first place." They both laughed then.

"Right. So where do we go from here?" Dian asked.

Connor inhaled deeply and wiped a tear from his eye that he hadn't noticed was there. "Uh… I dunno. Should we tell someone about it? Do we… get married or…?"

"Well, I think we should just wait a while; see how things work out, and let ourselves get used to the idea of having a baby, you know?"

He nodded and then laughed at the thought. "Wicked... a little mini-me running 'round; can you imagine?" He was starting to get excited about the thought of it. "I mean, it's a little unethical the way we're having it… but still."

"At least we love each other. We could actually be proper parents… if you want."

"Yeah! Of course." He smiled.

She looked away. "What about Abby?" she whispered.

He clenched his jaw, reminded of the complications. How was this supposed to work? He didn't love Abby any less… what was wrong with him? To love two women at the same time; there had to be something wrong with him. "Dian, I-"

Suddenly, and quite inevitably, they heard the loud rustling of people from outside, and someone running down the hallway towards this room. The door flung open and Danny was standing there, looking panicked. All he said was, "It's Helen… she's back from the dead."

* * *

Mike woke up, and the first thing he saw was Nick lying on the bed, curled into a ball. He must've jumped up there sometime during the night. Mike laughed and ran a hand over the small rodent, as if it was a cat. Nick squeaked in his sleep, whiskers twitching.

Mike slung his feet over the edge of the bed and got up, stretching. When he got to his door, there was a note hanging on it. He plucked it off and began reading: _Mike, gone to the ARC. Taken Connor with me. Should be back before dawn. Love, Abby._ That was weird… it was 8 in the morning, already past dawn. He shrugged it off and headed for the kitchen.

Strangely enough, he didn't see Sid, Nancy or Rex anywhere. Usually they ran to him in the morning for food. He blinked the sleep out of his eye and yawned soundlessly, heading for the coffee pot. Pushing all the tea stuff out of the way, he poured water into the coffee maker and started the brew. Connor and Abby rarely ever drank coffee; they thought it tasted too bitter, and they preferred tea. But Mike hated tea; he couldn't stand the thought of not having coffee in the mornings.

Yawning again, he waited for the brew to finish. He flinched upon seeing a moving shadow out of the corner of his eye. When he turned his head, he saw the shadow move again; it was a human shadow, which meant there was someone in the flat. Mike swallowed, frozen where he stood. He had to think quickly.

Spotting a knife on the counter, he grabbed it in his hand and forced his legs to move slowly towards the living room. When he peered around the corner into the living room, he immediately saw a figure standing there in the dim lighting; he couldn't really make out who it was because of how darkly lit the room was. He just reacted automatically, hurling the knife forward through the air at the figure with as much force as he could manage.

Mike's heart was beating fast against his ribs. He quickly flipped the light switch on to reveal the man still standing there, eyebrows shot up and eyes scanning over Mike. The man looked towards the wall behind him where the knife had been plunged into. Going over to it, he attempted to pull it out, but it wasn't budging. "Hah… you have a very strong throw, kid."

The man was short, no more than 5feet 3inches. He looked about 30 years old; he had light red hair and pale skin. His voice came out in an Irish accent that was mixed with British.

Mike cleared his throat. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my house?"

"Ah! And American too!" The man was even more impressed. "Me name's Shamus McLachlan. I'm here on orders from my… client, let's say." He smiled with perfectly white teeth. Shamus was wearing a long trench coat over a dim blue t-shirt and khaki pants.

Mike entered the room a little more, cautiously. "And, uh… who is your _client_?"

"Client confidentiality… I'm not allowed to say. You see, I'm in the business of private hiring… in other words, people hiring me to do certain things for them. Some want me to deal them drugs… some want me to" He pulled the knife out of the wall and twirled it in his fingers. "get rid of people…" Shamus laughed deviously. "In this case, it's neither. No, this case has been quite a unique one, indeed." He went to the couch and sat down comfortably.

"But that doesn't explain why you're here."

"It does, actually. My client paid me to come here and tell you, Michael… tell you about the people you've been living with. The _truth_ about these people." He smiled.

"Alright, cut the bullshit, buddy. What the hell are you getting at?"

"These people you trust. Connor Temple and Abby Maitland. They work for the ARC. Do you know much about the ARC, Michael?"

"No," he replied plainly.

"Well, let me tell you something… the ARC is responsible for killing the human race. They wipe us all out! Here's something I bet you don't know about your good friend Connor Temple… he murdered your father."

Mike was stunned by the accusation. He didn't believe it. "No… no, you're lying. Connor wouldn't have done that."

"You _think_ he wouldn't! But in fact he _did_, Mike. Murdered him in cold blood." Shamus got up and went to Mike. "But, I'm here to protect you, Michael. I can help you. These people are bad people and they're using you. You have to trust me… yeah?"

Mike didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to believe or what to do; but he just couldn't think that Connor would kill his father. "Prove it," he demanded.

Shamus' mouth twitched, he was obviously getting annoyed. "I will, son… I will. Just trust me, alright? I know the truth and I promise… I will protect you from these people." He smiled.

Mike hesitated and then nodded. He was starting to believe this man, for now he would remain cautious until he got proof that Connor killed his dad… _if_ he got proof.

* * *

Alex gritted his teeth, his hands shaking as if he was resisting the urge to pull the trigger and send a bullet through Cutter's skull. His nose started to bleed as he fought whatever was controlling his brain and telling him to kill Cutter. All he managed was to move the gun downward before pulling the trigger and releasing the bullet. But, he hadn't moved it out of range of Cutter.

The bullet pierced into Cutter's flesh, ripping into his chest, just below the collarbone, causing him to scream in agony. Falling backwards, he found himself landing on a cold hard floor that wasn't the same pavement he'd just been standing on. He looked up, holding his wounded shoulder, and saw the large flashing light of an anomaly. He must've fallen through it, but where did it come from?

"Oi!" he heard someone shout. "There's another one! And a man just came out of it!"

Trying to hold on to conscience, Cutter watched the now blurry people run towards him, one of which he recognized as Captain Becker; the Captain Becker from the alternate reality though. Everything went black as the blood loss closed out all consciousness…

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 6!**

**So, yeah... I added yet another awesome character. And you may now think "Holy hell, it's Helen Cutter!" ;)**

**Cutter is shot, under his collarbone, which doesn't leave much room for recovery... I know, I know, I shouldn't make him die a second time. sorryz.**

**And, can we say "Poor Connor!" I felt sorry for him while I was writing his scene of agony... he's been hurt too many times. :( **

**I'm going to give a bit of a hint as to what is to come soon... someone horrible comes back... someone that has a simple masterplan, and is out for revenge. You think you know who it could be? perhaps you do, but I hope not because then that means i'm not doing my job correctly. ;)**

**Please review! Reviews are NEEDED and DEMANDED! with respect of course. ;D**


	6. Chapter 6

Connor attempted to get out of the bed, but Dian pushed him back down. "No. You can't go anywhere, you need to rest." She turned to Danny, who was still standing at the door. "Who is Helen? Why do you two look like you've just seen a ghost?" She didn't get an answer, Connor and Danny both looked terrified and angry in their expressions. "Guys! What the hell is going on?" she repeated.

Danny finally spoke. "There's no time to explain; who knows what Helen is planning to do. Connor, we need you. Come on."

Connor gave Dian a glance, but starting getting out of the bed anyway. "I'm sorry, Dian, but I've got to do this. I'll be fine," he assured her. Regardless of how she felt, she helped him out of the room, not even bothering to put his shirt back on.

Opening the doors to the main entrance of the ARC, Connor spotted about 10 or 15 soldiers surrounding Helen Cutter. All of the soldiers were armed and aiming at Helen, who didn't look the least bit worried. No, she looked blank… her face showing no emotion.

Connor broke free of Dian and walked straight to Helen, knowing that if he had a gun in his hand right now, he probably would have put a bullet into her head. When he stopped in front of her, she smiled softly and said, "Hello Connor," her voice sounded different. She was somehow different… almost kind in her tone and the way she looked. But, it had to be a trick; she was just as deceiving as she'd always been.

"You were dead," he stated. "You were killed by a raptor millions of years ago." His voice dropped to a whisper, eyes arced in brooding. "How are you here, Helen?"

Her smile didn't fade. "I never died. Well, I suppose I did, but you see… that wasn't me, not exactly. It was me from an alternate universe. See, I met my other self not long after… Nick's demise," she put it softly. _As if she even cared_, Connor thought to himself. "And we worked together," she continued. "That is until she met an untimely end. But, I suppose it's all for the best…"

"What are you doing here? Why didn't you just continue your aim to destroy the human race? Why the hell did you come back here!" Connor shouted, all the anger bursting to the surface and making Helen flinch uncharacteristically.

"I've changed, Connor. I don't know what happened, but I'm not the same person I was before." She smiled, her eyes bright and her voice sweet. "I only have one goal now… and that's to help people. I came back here so that I could help."

Before Connor could say anything else, Lester rushed in and ordered his men to take Helen and lock her up until he came to, quote: "Investigate her suspicious intentions." Helen went with the soldiers happily… what had happened to her? She was acting like a nutter that had come straight from happy-pill-hour at the Looney bin.

As they took her away Connor yelled after her desperately. "What are you playing at, Helen?"

She turned her head back to look at him and called out her answer. "Nothing. I've been reborn, Connor… I just wish Nick was here with me." Connor was stunned. This had to be some sort of trick; people don't just change like that.

He stood there, speechless, as the doors separated him from Helen. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked up he saw Abby standing next to him. "You alright, Con?" He didn't answer. "It's going to be alright, yeah?" She rubbed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Lester's going to find out what she's doing here and we'll take care of this, Con. We won't let Helen hurt anyone else, I promise. We've got her here, so we'll just lock her up and she'll never see daylight again." Abby smiled at him a little.

Connor nodded, putting his hand on hers and looking into her eyes. He felt safer when he was with Abby… like she was meant to be in his life. Connor very nearly felt his eyes water, and apparently his face portrayed the emotion and Abby noticed. She gave him an almost shocked looked but didn't question what was wrong, she just wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"It's going to be okay, Connor. I'm here for you… no matter what," she reassured him. He felt a tear run down his cheek; he couldn't imagine his life without Abby, he didn't even _want_ to imagine his life without her. He held her tight in his arms for a moment.

He felt better when he finally let her go. "Thanks Abs," he said, wiping a tear from his face. "I needed that."

She smiled. "I know." After a minute, something hit her. "Oh! I forgot to tell you. Cutter came back! He was badly wounded when Becker and a few others found him. The anomaly he'd come out of closed almost immediately afterwards."

"What? Where is he now?" Connor asked, slightly confused.

"They took him to Dr. Scott so he could help his wounds." Connor started toward the doors, but Abby caught him by the arm and spun him back to face her. "Connor… it doesn't look too good for him. I don't think you want to go see Cutter. I'm worried about you, Con. I don't know that you could take it if something happened to him again. You've been sort of… unraveling, lately."

He shook his head, even though he knew she was right. "I'm fine." Pulling his arm out of her grip, Connor walked through the large doors of the ARC and started down the long corridor. Halfway to the hospital room, a random door opened beside him and a hand flew out, grabbing Connor and pulling him into the room and making him shriek in shock.

The hand covered Connor's mouth when he was in the room. The door shut and the whole room was dark, except for a small hanging lamp… they were in a storage closet. He felt hot breath breathe down his neck and make the hairs stand up. Connor struggled to get free of the person's grip but it was no use in trying; they were obviously stronger than he was… whoever they were.

He felt the hot breath on his ear as the person spoke to him. "Hello Connor… remember me?" The voice was familiar, but obviously strained as to not give away who it was. The person was playing games with Connor, messing with his head. He shook his head, answering the question. The person laughed. "You should. Because I very well remember you, and I know I'm not that forgettable… seeing as how I gave you these." The person grabbed Connor's arm with their free hand and pressed into the cuts that were there under the bandaging, making Connor scream a muffled shriek of agony.

"You couldn't have forgotten old C. now could you?" He laughed in Connor's ear and whispered, "You killed me, and now… now you're gonna pay, along with Dian and her father. I will get my revenge on all you bastards," C. growled.

* * *

Alex dropped the gun to the pavement. He couldn't take it anymore. He'd just shot Nick Cutter, he's lost the love of his life, and his brain is steadily being taken over by some database computer that was uploaded into it. Thing is… his actions don't seem like something that would be provoked by just a database computer. Someone has to be giving the computer commands, or else he wouldn't be doing these things.

Alex had only one last chance at turning everything around; he had to try to figure out what was going on, but more importantly… he had to get rid of the future anomalies he'd just opened.

"Mr. Winchester!" one of the soldiers called. "I think you should come see this!"

He ran over to the man and looked at the small portable television he was holding. On the screen was BBC one news, and it was showing how future anomalies were opened around the entire country… so it wasn't just Area 51. This was much worse than he'd thought. Much, much worse.

Throwing a gun at Jason, Alex stalked out into the open grass. "What are you doing?" Jason called after him, holding the gun awkwardly like he didn't know what to do with it.

"I'm going to fix the mess I created. And you, Jason… you're going to make sure those creatures don't get out of the building." He turned to face Jason. "I'm leaving that up to you. Make sure that no matter what, those things don't get out, do you understand?" Jason swallowed hard but nodded. "Good. Now stand back," Alex demanded.

He concentrated as hard as he could, feeling an unbearable pain right before an anomaly opened in front of him. He rubbed under his nose and saw blood on his hand when he pulled it back. Ignoring the nose bleed, he stepped through the shining light, and found himself in the parallel reality. He was back at the ARC and everyone immediately noticed him come through the anomaly, which closed only two seconds later, leaving him in this alternate world.

He stood up straight and tried to look confident when the ARC soldiers confronted him. "I need to speak with Connor Temple," he demanded. Dian had told him so much about Connor in the past week since she had come home. He felt like he knew him just as well as she did. Alex knew that he was the right person to get to help with closing the anomalies and getting rid of those future predators. But he defiantly hadn't expected the soldiers reply to his demand.

"High Lord Temple doesn't speak with otherworlders. Our lord only speaks to those he wishes to speak to! You do not demand to see him; he demands to see you if he wants," one of the soldiers informed him.

"High Lord Temple? Your lord? I know he's supposed to be a genius, but… really," Alex exclaimed, stunned.

The ARC soldier cocked his gun and pointed it at Alex's head. "We take him to the holding prison until Lord Temple gives orders," he informed the rest of the soldiers. They started pushing Alex towards a room in which they shoved him into. It was a dark, damp, dungeon-like room covered in moss and… blood.

"Where the hell am I?" he whispered to himself when the soldiers had locked him in and left.

"You're in Lord Temple's designated research facility," a soft voice said from the shadows. When the young woman came into the light, Alex saw who it was. It was Abby Maitland. She wore a shirt with the words, 'Our Lord Connor Temple!' on it and a picture of Connor giving the Vulcan "live long and prosper" sign. Abby looked like she was kept in this room a lot; her hair was wet and she was pale, as if she'd not seen sunlight for the longest time.

Alex swallowed. "Um… what year is it?"

"What a stupid question," she answered. "2018, the 9th year of our Lord Temple's reign," she added. She sounded brainwashed. Smiling, she lost herself in thought, she just repeated, "All hail Lord Temple!" over and over again…

He defiantly hadn't come to the right reality. Whoever is controlling Alex's brain, obviously doesn't want him to go back to that other reality…

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 7!**

**Okay, sorry it's kinda short. But look! C. is back! (Cue dramatic music)**

**And Helen is... a bit weird. Has she really changed? Perhaps she finally snapped and went crazy? Or is possibly just playing with everyones heads?**

**Haha "High Lord Temple"... I just had to make that happen! :D I bet Alex is going to have some fun in that reality... this one should be interesting.**

**Please click that review button and type in those lovely words! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

C. released Connor from his grip and threw him against the wall. Connor looked terrified, but C. just smiled and leaned against the door of the room. He looked tired and worn… it suddenly hit Connor that he'd lost everything; C. had no family left except for Mike. It's no wonder he looked so beaten right now.

Connor stayed on the ground, leaning against the opposite wall as far from C. as possible. "Whata you going to do to me this time?" his voice was a little shaky.

A devious smile reappeared on C.'s face, but what he said didn't fit it at all. "I'm not going to hurt you, Connor."

Connor narrowed his eyes. "But you just said-"

"I know," C. interrupted. "And believe me… you will pay, but not in the way you think." He let the confusion settle on Connor for a moment before explaining. "I'm done trying to hurt you, or Nick Cutter, for that matter…" He sounded defeated, a heavy sigh rushing from his lungs. "I lost my wife… I have no idea what has happened to my son. I was killed… and then I was brought back to life by some psychotic woman."

"Helen?" Connor guessed.

"Yes. Helen Cutter. She said she'd fix everything; fix the entire world, and put it back to the way it's supposed to be. But, she said she needed you, Connor. So, that's what I'm supposed to do… bring you to her," C. finished explaining.

"What does she want from me? Why _me_?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" C. challenged, his dark brown eyes glaring down on Connor. It was weird that Connor was having a conversation with himself. Nothing was ever easy or simple for Connor Temple… not since he'd become a part of the ARC and the anomalies. And now, everything was falling apart; there were future anomalies out of control and different realities that split the universe. How could it be fixed? There wasn't a possible solution to all this… but maybe, for once, Helen had the right idea. She was right that things needed to be fixed, but her methods were usually… unethical.

C.'s voice jolted Connor out of thought. "Look, it's either I get my revenge or I get my life back. So, you- you little dweeb- can either go talk to the psychotic bitch and figure out how to put everything back in the right place, or I can finish what I had started with you… and you'll never see your friends again… Up to you."

Connor swallowed and nodded his head. "Good. Now go!" C. grabbed Connor's arm and threw him out the door, into the hallway, causing him to almost run directly into Sarah as she was walking down the corridor.

"Whoa, Connor!" She laughed. "You alright?"

He stood up straight, regaining balance. "Yep, fine. Why… why do ya ask?" He tried to act normal, as if nothing was different; if he went around saying that C. was alive, everyone would think he'd gone mental.

"Well, for one thing, you don't usually come randomly flying out of closets…"

"Yeah, it's-I'm just… trying… new… things," he spurted out in a bad lie.

"Right…" Sarah eyed him for a moment but brushed it aside with a shake of her head. "Uh, Lester told me to come find you, anyway. He said that he wants you to work on getting the A.D.D. up and running.

He said we should act as if nothing happened… and just go about working while he takes care of the whole Helen thing." She shrugged. "I think things may be starting to go back to normal, actually. Helen hasn't made any trouble and those anomalies are closed, so aside from Nick's alternate coming back wounded… things are pretty much just as 'boring' as ever." She laughed at herself and handed Connor some tools, then made her way down the hall, leaving him.

_Things are far from normal_, Connor thought. He guessed he'd go see Cutter before finding out what Helen wanted; maybe Cutter knew something about why she'd come back.

* * *

Alex sat on the damp floor, playing with a piece of string on his shirt. He needed to get out of here and to the right reality, but if he tried to open another anomaly, it would most certainly just take him somewhere like this again… he needed to block out whoever had control of his brain… but how?

"It's simple," a voice told him. "It's a sequence of numbers that overrides the computer's control of your brain."

Alex turned to see who had spoken. It was Connor, or "high lord, Temple" as he was called here. He was wearing some sort of toga thing and his hair was long and brown; he almost resembled someone from the Biblical times.

"What?" Alex inquired, baffled by this reality's version of Connor.

"I can see it in your head," Lord Temple explained. "You don't come from this world, do you?"

"No, I don't, and I need to get back home." Alex didn't even want to ask how Connor knew what was in his head; he just wanted to get the hell out of here.

"Well, where you're wanting to go isn't home, I can see that," he mused. "But, if you very much want to get there, I suppose I can help… the sequence of numbers needs to be entered into the computer locked in your head. I might be able to override the control of the computer without even having to open up your head." He smiled a crooked smile.

Alex stared at him for a minute. "And why do you want to help me? What, exactly, do you get out of it?"

"I get rid of you… I don't like otherworlders coming here; they don't bow to me and they don't respect me. So I'll be glad to see you gone," Lord Temple explained. "Now, do you want my help or not?"

Alex allowed Connor to help, however weird this version of him was, he knew what he was doing. Alex felt a slight pain in his head when Connor touched his fingers to his temples and let go a few moments later. "There," he stated, satisfied with himself. "You should be able to have control over your brain for a while now. But you don't have very long before the computer regains control." Connor started leaving, bored with the whole thing. Before he left, he called to Abby, "Come darling, I need my dinner." And she ran after him happily.

He was gone before Alex could thank him. "Well that was weird," he exclaimed. Shaking his head, he stood up and, yet again, concentrated on opening an anomaly. When he saw a large flash of light, he immediately stepped through it; reaching the ARC again… he spotted Dian sitting next to Stephen Hart, who he remembered from Area 51.

"Dian!" he called across the large building and ran to where she sat.

Dian shot her head up upon hearing the familiar voice. "Alex, what are you doing here?"

He grabbed her in a hug as soon as reaching her. "I thought you were dead! Oh, God… I'm so glad to see you, Dian."

She didn't hug him back, just waited until he let go. "Uh… what are you doing here?" she repeated, not really knowing what else to say.

"I came to find your friend, Connor. I figured he could help me fix the mess I created back home. Dian I… I thought you'd died…" he added.

"I'm sorry… I-I had to come back here," she tried to explain.

Alex blinked, his face a mask of confusion. Even though he knew he probably didn't want to know the answer, he still asked, "But why? Why did you have to come back here, Dian?"

Her hand subconsciously moved to her stomach and she swallowed hard, knowing it was time to tell him the truth. She inhaled deeply, preparing herself.

* * *

Mike waited on the couch while Shamus had gone to his car… supposedly to get proof of the fact that Connor killed Mike's dad. He still didn't believe the strange Irish man; he thought he was just some creeper, and he'd considered calling Abby to tell her what was happening, but he didn't need her… he didn't need anyone; he could take care of himself… or, at least, he _thought_ he could.

Mike flinched when the front door opened, signaling that Shamus had come back inside. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and when Shamus appeared, he was carrying a small bag which he threw in Mike's lap. He just looked at it, then glanced up at Shamus with a silent question.

"Well you wanted proof of your father's murder… and there it is," Shamus explained, pointing to the bag.

Mike unzipped the bag and found two photos inside, which he held up in front of him. The first picture was unmistakably Connor holding a gun to C.'s head, and the second was C. lying dead on the ground. Mike froze, staring at the photos... his free hand curled into a tight fist, shaking with the fury that built inside him, steadily getting stronger.

"Didn't I tell you?" Shamus said smugly. He sat down next to Mike and took the pictures away from him. "Look, kid… now you know I'm telling the truth; let me help you. I can help you, as long as you… trust me. Hm?" He looked at Mike and waited for his reaction.

Mike slowly turned his head to Shamus, his jaw set tense, and he nodded, hate burned in his eyes intensely. Shamus smiled cunningly and said, "Perfect."

"What do we do?" Mike asked, his voice portraying barely any emotion; he was like an empty shell.

Shamus leaned towards him and whispered, "We take over and destroy the ARC. No matter what it takes; no matter how many lives we have to take… this is our goal." He paused and stared at Mike. "Do you understand this, Michael? No matter what it takes," he repeated in a hypnotic voice, sucking Mike into his delusions.

He nodded, face expressionless and eyes staring blankly into Shamus' deceitful gaze. "Whatever it takes," he confirmed without emotion… like a robot.

"Very good, Michael… very good…"

* * *

Connor opened the door and stepped into the hospital room. Dr. Scott was working with an unconscious Cutter; he looked up at the sound of the opening door. "Oi, Connor, you can't be in here," he commanded, walking to Connor and eyeing him, holding out his hand in question. "Where's your shirt?"

Connor looked down at his bare chest and gave an almost embarrassed look. "It's-it's a long story- look, I just came to see how Cutter was doing. Is, uh… is he gonna be alright?" he asked tentatively.

Dr. Scott cleared his throat and spoke softly. "I'm not quite sure yet. Mr. Cutter's wound is very serious, I'm not sure-"

"Professor," Connor interrupted, unexpectedly.

"What's that?" Dr. Scott questioned.

Connor hadn't expected himself to say that, much less say it so harshly. "It's… its _professor_ Cutter…" He clenched his jaw and cleared his throat.

"Okay. Sorry… Look, uh… Connor, I'll let you know how things turn out, yeah? Just give me some time."

Connor nodded, and left the room. He waited behind a wall until he saw Dr. Scott leave the room, and he slipped back in. He headed to the hospital bed and spotted a gun sitting on the bedside table. Connor grabbed the gun and held it in his hand, the metal felt cold against his palm. His heart beat a bit faster; he swallowed hard and looked at Cutter. "I won't let you down, Cutter…"

He slipped the gun into the back of his trousers and grabbed his shirt on the way out of the room. Walking out into the hall, he entered a large room where Helen was being kept. He took a deep breath and confronted Helen, who was sitting at the table in the middle of the room.

Helen smiled at him and eyed the small bruise on his forehead. "I see you've already encountered my friend… he's proving to be useful."

Connor gritted his teeth. "I thought you'd changed…" He laughed once. "What do you want, Helen?"

She leaned forward on the table. "I have changed, Connor. I'm seeing things differently now. I know what needs to be done to put everything right."

"What's that?" he said through gritted teeth. "Hm? Kill another brilliant man? Or maybe this time you'd like to blame me for the destruction of the earth… You gonna shoot me, too? Go ahead, Helen! Shoot me! Here…" He threw the gun on the table and slid it across to Helen and held his arms out to the sides. "Shoot me," he demanded.

Helen stared at the gun in front of her, but didn't take it; she just looked up at Connor, questioningly. "You don't want to die, Connor. You have far too much to live for… there are too many people you love and who love you. A baby on the way and a lot of relationship problems to sort out…"

"How do you know-" he began, but Helen cut him off.

"It doesn't matter. I don't blame you for anything, Connor. I just need you to help me fix this mess," she explained, sitting back in her chair.

"How? Just… be straight with me, Helen; what do you want? What is your plan?"

"Sit down, Connor. Relax," she commanded softly. He shook his head in disbelief but sat down anyway. After a moment, Helen put her hands out on the table, face up. "Take my hands." Connor shook his head again. "Connor… take… My hands," she demanded. This time he obliged, cautiously. "Very good. Together, Connor… we can change this world; make it the way it's supposed to be. All you have to do is say yes…"

He wanted to pull his hands away, but something felt different. He actually… trusted what Helen was saying, and before he knew what he was doing, he found himself saying. "Yes." Helen smiled, then Connor felt a spark of electricity course through his hands and pulse through his body… then everything went black.

* * *

Connor's eyes opened, the blurred vision clearing, and he saw a white ceiling above his head. He blinked, and quickly sat up in the big bed he was in. The room was one he'd never seen before; the walls were yellow and the room was as big as his whole flat. His breathing was fast and he flinched when he heard a door open in the large bedroom. He looked over to the door that obviously led to a bathroom, seeing Abby walk out of it. Connor's eyes widened at the sight of her large, pregnant stomach.

"Oh good, you're awake," she said to him. "You don't have to go to work today, do you, sweetie?" she was saying as she sat down on the bed. She laughed. "I know, I know… you're a doctor and you're busy, but couldn't you take the weekend off sometimes?" She smiled lovingly at him.

Connor was frozen… where was he? What had happened? He heard animal feet padding against hardwood floor. He had expected to see Rex or Sid and Nancy, or Nick, but instead… he flinched a little when he saw a small Pomeranian dog run into the room, barking its tiny bark. "Wha-what?" was all he managed to say…

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 8!**

**Thanks for reading and please review! I'll update ASAP :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh… my mum's stupid dog," Abby said, picking up the pint-sized dog and putting him in the next room, shutting the door. "I can't believe she's making us watch him while she's out of town." She laughed. When she turned back to look at Connor, her face got serious and worried. "Connor… what's wrong with you? You look like you're having a heart attack or something. Maybe you should lie down."

"No… I'm fine…" he lied, unable to clear his face of the confused and terrified expression. His heart was thudding fast against his ribs. Things like this just don't happen… Helen had to of done something, but what and how? He took a deep breath and got up out of the bed. Walking a little ways, he immediately stopped in front of a large stand-up mirror; his skin was a little more tanned, his hair was still short but it was parted off to the side, giving him a more proper look. Aside from that, and being a little more muscular, not much about him was changed; he was even still wearing his fingerless gloves.

He threw his hands about his hair, making it mad like it normally was, before turning to Abby. "You said I was a doctor?"

She laughed with little humour. "Yes… Connor, if you can't remember who you are then I think there's something wrong with you. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, yeah… I'm fine, Abs. I'm just having a really weird morning, that's all. What, uh… what happened to my paleontology degree I was going for?" He had become a doctor… this world had to be some sort of other reality. Either that… or Helen changed his reality completely.

"You changed your major after we got engaged… don't you remember? You were in your third year of college when you met me. And I didn't like you at first, but after about a month of knowing you, we went out. I hadn't planned on making much of it, but… well you know as well as I do that's where Jackson came from." She smiled and scoffed at herself.

"Jackson?"

Her face turned serious again. "Connor Temple! If you can't even remember your own child!" she started but he cut her off.

"No, I… I do. I was just… mucking around. I remember. I do. Uh, I've got to go to work," he lied again; he needed an excuse to leave and figure out what was going on.

"Connor, I need you to stay home today. I don't think you're well."

"I swear, I'm fine, Abs… I just need to get to work, sort some things out."

"Why do you keep calling me that? You haven't called me 'Abs' since we got married…"

"Uh…" He started walking to the door, trying not to trip over the kids toys that were scattered across the floor. "I'm sorry, Abby… I've got to go." Connor walked into a large living room with hard-wood flooring and wood-paneled walls. It was a beautiful house, no doubt… but he certainly didn't feel at home.

Running outside, he expected to see the Mini Cooper in the driveway, but instead there was a Van and… "No… way," he exclaimed upon seeing what was parked next to the van. "A Lamborghini Reventon… the batmobile's little brother," he said with a smile spread wide across his face. He took the obvious choice and jumped into the Lamborghini.

Connor drove along the familiar roads. At least they were still in London… and he knew exactly where he had to go. With the speed of the amazing, $1.6 million, car, he was able to reach the ARC in no time; even though the outside of the building still looked the exact same, this was definitely not the ARC. When he opened the doors of the building, it was completely empty; deserted, and it looked like it had been that way for a very long time.

He ran his fingers through his hair and spun in a circle, looking at the mess the building had become. "Wha-what happened? What happened, Cutter? What have I done?" He hung his head and dropped to his knees. Then he let out an angry growl. "Ahh! How could I have done this? I let Helen pull me in… and I failed you, Professor. First the artifact was destroyed, and now I've let her destroy the fabric of reality; twist it into something it's not. Without the ARC… anomalies will cause so many people to die. I've failed…"

"Not quite, Connor."

He jerked his head up and saw Helen standing in front of him. Anger swelled deep in his chest; he wanted, more than anything, for her to be dead and out of his life. But, he had to put things back and he couldn't do that without her... however much that sickened him. "What the hell have you done, Helen?"

She put her hand under his chin. "Aw… have I upset you?" He jerked away from her and the smile left her face. "I did what I said I was going to do, Connor. I put the world back the way it was supposed to be. The ARC is gone… the future of the world should no longer be doomed, and everyone's lives can go on as normal. Don't you see? This is just the beginning of a brand new world! This is the way life should have been. Here in this new world, you never showed Cutter that newspaper. You never convinced him to go look at that creature sighting in the Forest of Dean… don't you see? It all started with you, Connor.

You were the one who caused Nick to get involved, and in doing that, he got James Lester involved, and that's how everything started. But now… none of that happened. You and Abby are living a normal and amazing life, the ARC no longer exists- and trust me; that is a very good thing, whether you believe it or not- and Nick…" she trailed off, realising.

Connor understood. "Cutter's still alive," he finished. "But none of that matters, Helen! It didn't need to be changed! The ARC was not the one who destroyed the Earth's future… it was you! You! You psychotic bitch!" Connor lost it. He'd never once in his life felt this part of him… he'd always been the calm one. He was always the geek, the one who went to Comic-Con, and the one who never got the girl. He wasn't an angry person, and he hardly ever cursed… but this wasn't him anymore; he felt like a completely different person. His anger was out of control and no words could describe how he felt at this moment.

Helen was about to speak but Connor jumped up off the floor and stood in front of her, his face inches from hers, brooding; the heat of his anger could literally be felt. For the first time, he actually saw Helen Cutter genuinely flinch in fear. But he didn't care. All he wanted was to make her understand what she'd done, and what she had to do. "Your mind is warped out of control, Helen! Why can't you see that it has been you all along? Your other self, from that other reality; the one who died? She started the anomalies! Area 51 and all that! You've made it so much worse! Why don't you just die? Die and leave us all the hell alone! You killed your own husband, for heaven's sake! How do you even think you're still doing the right thing?" He looked into her eyes, seeing nothing but pure evil. He thought that maybe… just maybe he'd gotten her to understand.

It took her a few moments of thinking before she responded, and her response was _not_ what Connor wanted to hear. "I think you're wrong, Connor."

He threw his arms in the air and walked away in anger, running his hands through his thick hair again. "Just go on with your life, Connor. You've got the girl you always wanted, Nick's alive, and I'll be gone out of your life forever… it's so very simple."

"No! Nothing is ever simple, Helen! This is not the world that it started out to be! You put things back right now, or so help me… I will kill you, Helen. Like someone should have done so very long ago."

"That's a nice sentiment, Connor, but I don't think you're capable of that. Besides, if you really want to go back then you would need me."

He laughed with only a bit of humour. "I don't need you. No, because you see… I've got Cutter." He wasn't thinking. All he knew was that if he didn't do something, then Helen would screw up the world even more than she already had. He still had the gun from before, and this time he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, aiming straight at her head. It was the only thing that was ever simple to Connor… _bang!_ And she was lying on the floor, dead. He froze, his face a mask of emotionless torture. Slowly, he lowered his arm and sat down on the floor in front of Helen's lifeless body. But this time… he wasn't going to take any chances.

Connor grabbed a pack of matches and quickly lit the place on fire, watching as Helen burned, like she should have long ago in the fire at the ARC… the fire she had caused. Cutter never should have gone back to save her. Now she got what she deserved.

After he was sure the job was done, Connor left to find Cutter. Maybe he could help put things back… just maybe. But, how was he going to find out where Cutter was in this warped world? This is a new world… a brand new world; and some part of Connor admired that- wanted to figure out how Helen had done it. But, there was no way to do that now. All he needed to do, was put everything back to normal.

* * *

So he set out to find Nick Cutter; searching the phone books, calling each Nick Cutter there was until he heard the familiar Scottish accent on the other line. It was a recording because he hadn't picked up the phone, but at least Connor knew where to find him now. He ripped the page from the book and headed for the address listed.

He arrived at a small house near the Forest of Dean- why Cutter would have ever chosen to live here was a mystery to Connor. He knocked on the door, but didn't get a response until the third knock. Cutter appeared in the doorway, his hair long and messy, a beard and mustache growing on his face, and his clothes raggedy. He looked very un-kept. "Professor Nick Cutter?" Connor inquired, warily.

Cutter eyed him for a few seconds. "No one's called me Professor for years now… what do you, kid?" his Scottish accent was just as familiar as always, but his voice seemed dead inside, like he had nothing to live for. He reeked of alcohol, too.

"Uh… what happened to you, professor? You look terrible."

"…Are you flirting with me? 'Cause if ya are, I'm gonna be shutting the door now… and I might even get my gun and shoot at ya."

"No! No… I'm just… I need your help, Cutter. But, first I've got to know what happened to you. Are you not a professor anymore?"

Cutter eyed him again but eventually stepped outside, shutting the door behind him and sat down on the pathetic excuse for a porch railing. Connor was surprised it didn't break under the weight. "No, I'm not, kid. I got fired when I had a "nervous breakdown", or whatever they wanted to call it. Bottom line, I was a bit unstable for a while after my wife disappeared, and one day it all just… exploded out of me. Cost me my job and my friends… and my life. Alright? So, what did you want?"

Connor thought about how do approach this, but he figured it might just be better to lay it all out there in truth to him. He took a deep breath. "My name is Connor Temple, and in another life we knew each other. I worked with you, fighting and closing anomalies; links to the past, doorways in time to worlds we can barely imagine.

We were a team; you, me, Abby, Stephen, and then Danny, Sarah and Becker. But your wife, Helen Cutter killed you, and then she was killed, but it turned out she wasn't really dead; it was her from an alternate reality, so she came back and coaxed me into her plots. She changed the world into this world so the Anomaly Research Centre never existed and that you, me and the others were never a team, never met. Then I killed Helen Cutter and came looking for you and now here I am," he finished, sucking in air from the long explanation. "Wow, I'm really thirsty now… got any water?"

Cutter looked like he was honestly about to call the police on Connor and have him thrown into a little white room with a box of Crayolas. But the only thing he said was, "And why do you need me?"

"I need you to help me find out how to put the world back the way it was," he explained, smacking his dry mouth.

Cutter nodded, pondering the thought. "Either I've had too much to drink, or you're completely insane." He walked to his door and opened it, heading inside.

Connor shut the door quickly. "No, Professor! Please, you have to believe me. You're my only hope; I'll never make it back home if you don't help me," he pleaded.

"Actually… I might have something you'd be interested in. Come inside, kid." He opened the door and Connor hesitated before entering the small house. This new world… Connor had everything he ever wanted; he was married to Abby, had a kid, had a brilliant house, made great money, and lived a great life... did he actually want to leave it? But, then he looked at Cutter. This wasn't right… he had to put things back the way they were… didn't he? _A New World_, he thought…

* * *

**TBC in Chapter- can't you count? I don't need to say it. :P**

**So tell me what you think! Review, review! Helen is FINALLY FINALLY dead! HUZZAH!(that is such a great word; huzzah) :D**

**Thank ya for readin'!**


	9. Chapter 9

**First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all the wonderful and helpful reviews! They've meant a lot to me. If people didn't read my stories, I wouldn't be writing them. So thank you for letting me know you're reading and enjoying! :)**

* * *

Cutter was sitting at his kitchen table-if you could really even call the tiny, pathetic space a kitchen-with a bottle of beer in hand. That was the first thing he'd gotten upon entering the house: a beer. Connor had filled him in on pretty much everything. But, Cutter had yet to show him the "something you'd be interested in" he'd spoken about.

Cutter sat there, nodding his head as it all sunk in. "Anomalies… time travel. And alternate realities? So… is that what this is? An alternate reality?"

"Uh… no, actually it's the same reality, just… changed. Somehow Helen Cutter, your wife, changed this reality completely. So, Abby, Becker, Danny, Sarah, Lester, Dian… they all have completely different lives here. You see why I need to put things back."

Cutter nodded again. He got up from the table and went to a desk that was sitting on the right side of the room. Connor could hear him rummaging through the paper and random objects that covered the desk's surface. Connor looked at the glass of water Cutter had given him; he was afraid to touch it, let alone drink it. The water was a foggy brown and the cup it was in was covered with a little dirt and mold. Connor was almost frightened of the thing… he took one finger and slowly pushed the cup across the table, as far away from him as his arm would reach.

When he heard Cutter coming back to the table, Connor moved his arm back to him and awkwardly looked normal again. Cutter just barely took any notice of the cup being closer to his side of the table, pausing for a second and blinking at the cup, then inconspicuously ignoring it and sitting down.

Cutter set down an object, wrapped in brown paper, on the table and slid it to Connor. He just looked at it in question. "What's this?"

"I found it lying outside on the ground this morning, maybe it came from my supposed 'wife'. I've no idea what it is, but I figured maybe you'd be interested in it. I don't really have a use for the thing," Cutter explained.

Connor picked it up and carefully peeled the paper off, uncovering a light blue piece of glass. His eyes narrowed at the glass and he quickly ripped off the rest of the paper. The object was a thin, glass device; sort of like the anomaly opening device Helen had, but this was a bit different. Maybe he could figure out a way to change the world back with this device… somehow.

"Well?" Cutter pushed.

"Um… I don't know what it is, exactly, but I have an idea. Thank you, Cutter. I won't let you down."

He looked at Connor like he was crazy. "Let me down? Well alright… I don't think you could, seeing as how I don't expect anything from you. Look, kid I don't care what the hell you do with that thing, or what you do at all… I still think you're a mental that escaped from an institution. But, really I just don't care so long as you don't bring me into all this. So, you can take that thing and get out of here."

Connor nodded and got up from the table, walking to the door and leaving. He heard the door slam behind him as Cutter shut it. He sighed and walked across the road, reaching an empty field; it was a perfect place to test the device… and see what it actually did.

He took a deep breath, looking around to make sure no one could see him. Then he focused on the device. "Okay... let's see what you've got for me." His fingers lightly touched the blue glass and the device glowed, coming to life and showing an extremely complex map that swirled around the screen. It looked like Cutter's map, but far more intricate and complicated. Connor's jaw dropped. "Apparently… a lot."

"Whoo, okay, um… playing with time and space when I have no idea what the hell I'm doing… that works." He chuckled at himself. His finger lingered over the device as he tried to make sense of what to do. "Don't suppose it comes with an instruction manual, eh? Err!" He shook out his hand and stretched his fingers. "Okay, here we go… I'm just gonna… guess." He chose a section on the map that was labeled '20/10 1650'. Closing his eyes, he took the chance and pressed it, expecting the worst.

When he opened his eyes, there was no anomaly, no dramatic flash of light, nothing. Instead of standing in a field, he was standing on pavement. Before he could do anything, he heard a loud horn blow and turned his head to the left. This wasn't just a pavement… it was a road, which he just happened to be standing on. His heart pumped blood fast through his veins as he panicked, frozen where he stood as the large 18-wheeler sped towards him.

Connor felt a hard force crash into him and his senses go out…

* * *

"I found him on the road. I'm not sure what happened to him, but I suppose Dian would want to know about this," Stephen said to Dr. Scott, looking at Connor's body lying on the table in the hospital room at the ARC.

"Ah, yes I suppose she would… why don't you go find her, tell her what's happened," Dr. Scott advised.

"Yes sir." Stephen left the room.

A few minutes later, Dian came running into the room and stopped dead in front of Connor. "Oh… my god! Connor, what've you done to yourself?"

Stephen ran in the room after her. "Ma'am! Please, you don't-"

"Shut up, Stephen!" She turned to Connor, tears running down her face as she looked at his body. "Jesus… what did you do, Connor?" She ran her hand down his face and her eyes narrowed. She shook her head and stopped crying. "He's not… he's not even wounded." She felt like an idiot. "He's not dead is he?"

Stephen cleared his throat. "No ma'am. You didn't let me finish explaining it to you… you got the wrong idea."

She nodded once and wiped off the tears. "Right. You said a truck was about to hit him when you spotted him standing on the road?"

"Yes, but the truck didn't hit him; I was fast enough to knock him out of the way, but I'm afraid he was knocked unconscious by my doing so," Stephen explained.

"But, he's going to be alright," Dr. Scott added. "Just a minor concussion, nothing serious. He should be awake any moment."

"Hmm," Dian exclaimed. Connor started to move. "Can you leave us for a minute?" Dr. Scott nodded and almost had to force Stephen to leave the room.

Connor moaned, rubbing his head where he'd hit it. He spotted Dian and sat up on the table quickly, eyes wide and a grin spread across his face. "I did it! I made it back!"

"Connor, calm down. Back from where? What are you talking about?" Dian stared at him, eyes narrowed.

"Wha? You didn't know I was gone? What about Helen? Is she still here?"

"No… Helen disappeared; I don't know where she went. Connor, what happened to you?"

He thought about it, and then figured it was best to just keep it to himself. "Nothing… forget it, it's nothing. I'm here, I'm alive; that's what matters."

"Damn right it is. Look Connor, you know I can't… I can't do this. I can't live in this chaos." She sighed.

"Jeez, I'm back for 5 minutes and already being told off," he muttered to himself. "Dian, what are you trying to say?"

She paused, staring at the floor. "I was wrong to think I could just have this baby with you and everything would be a happily ever after… I should've known better. Connor, your job puts your life at risk every day. And… I was right the first time; I can't take you away from Abby." She sighed again and looked at his surprised face. "Don't give me that face, Connor. Look, I told Alex the truth… I told him the baby was yours and that I didn't know what to do. He told me…" she laughed a little. "He told me to do whatever made me happy. But I know better than most… that you can't always do what makes you happy."

"Dian, I-"

"Please, Connor… don't make this harder." He held her hand and narrowed his eyes; he didn't know what to think. Although, he wouldn't fight her… he would let her do whatever she chose to do.

"Dian?" They heard Alex yell from outside and a second later he opened the door, running into the room, panting. "Oh, Connor. Mate, I thought you'd left or something. Never mind, I've been looking for you, anyway. I need you to come back to our reality. We need your help… I've mucked everything up. Future anomalies have opened all around the world, all of time and space has been torn to shreds. I need your help, mate… desperately."

Connor didn't hesitate to jump off the table and follow Alex out of the room, Dian following behind them. When they got to the main room, Alex motioned for them to stand back and he quickly opened an anomaly, hoping it would open where he wanted it to.

"Whoa!" Connor exclaimed. "How… how did you…?"

"No time to explain, just go," Alex demanded, pushing him towards the anomaly and ignoring the amazed look Connor gave him before he disappeared through the anomaly.

Dian followed, and Alex came right after them, the anomaly quickly closing behind him. The unharmed Area 51 soldiers were standing outside. Alex turned to Connor. "Alright… where do we start?"

"Um… I guess with this," he pulled out the anomaly device he'd gotten from Cutter, and the other device from when he'd first met Dian. One of these devices should be able to close the massive amount of anomalies that were open. But it wasn't going to be that simple, he was sure…

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 10!**

**Yes, this story is coming to an end, I must say. :( But, it's been a long ride, eh? And a good one. :) I hope you've enjoyed it and i'll make the last chapter(s) great!**

**Review, please! Let me know what you think of the chapter, story, and new characters.**


	10. Chapter 10

Abby saw Connor, Dian and Alex disappear through the anomaly. Things were falling apart; she just had to hope that Connor could fix everything. For now, all she could do is wait… but the Prime Minister apparently wasn't waiting for anything; Lester came in the main room of the ARC, Becker, Danny, Sarah and the rest of the ARC staff following. Everyone seemed a little flustered from the anomalies opening out of nowhere just a while earlier.

Lester stood up the stairs, in front of his office, looking down at the destroyed ARC. Clearing his throat, he got everyone's attention. "The Prime Minister has become aware of our situation; future anomalies have broken out all across the world, creatures have only just begun to attack. So, he's sending in the full forces of our military all across Britain; including the ARC." He paused, seeming to be disapproving of the situation, but Abby could see he was really trying to choose his words; choose how much information to give everyone.

"For a while," he continued slowly, trying to keep confident, though he really didn't know what they were going to do. "The military will be in charge of the ARC… I am no longer the head of this operation... temporarily," he added, no doubt a lie from what Abby could tell. "When the military soldiers arrive, I am no longer in charge; you listen to them and them alone, has everybody got that?"

There was a buzz in the crowd of people; they were slightly confused as to what was actually happening… obviously none of them really knew the immensity of the situation, but Lester probably wanted it that way. He only replied simply and sharply, "Good." before walking off into his office.

Abby shoved her way through the ARC staff as they worriedly discussed the situation. Danny had tried to talk to her when she passed but she ignored him and continued to head to Lester's office; she would apologise to him later, right now she needed to figure out what was going on. When she reached Lester's office, she knocked on the glass, standing in the doorway. "Lester?"

He looked up from his desk. "Yes, what is it?"

"What's going on? …how bad is this really?" she asked hesitantly, almost fearing what the answer would be.

He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the paperwork on his desk. "It's fine. Just go on with your job, Ms. Maitland and… do try to keep out of the soldier's way when they arrive."

"Lester!" she said sternly. She wasn't going to let him ignore the subject with her.

He looked up again, took a deep, irritated breath, and then spoke quickly. "The anomalies are out of control. The Prime Minister has been working with other countries for the past 3 weeks, trying to set up alliances. Anomalies open around the world just the same as here… turns out; there are other 'Anomaly Research Centres' all over the world, in different forms. Some, like America, use their military and governmental forces to contain and research the anomalies. Now that this… epidemic has broken out, that's the sort of thing the Prime Minister thinks the ARC needs. So, I'm out of a job and the military takes over.

And now Temple and his merry band of Parallel Universe-ies have skipped out to try and fix the whole damn mess; unsuccessfully, no doubt… now, any more questions? No? Good, leave," he finished, going back to his paperwork

Abby was about to say something, but a bustle broke out downstairs, cutting her off before she could start. Lester didn't even phase at the sounds. Abby walked out, looking down at the ARC; a ton of soldiers had flooded in, ordering people about and messing with everything. This place was going to be turned into a military base… she couldn't let this continue; she had to do something.

* * *

After fiddling with the anomaly devices, Connor was ready to give up before he made things worse… he'd already opened about 20 extra anomalies and still didn't know what he was doing. He knew this wasn't going to be easy…

Alex was getting impatient. All this was his fault, and it was getting worse and worse. If Connor couldn't fix it… then he would have to. There had to be some way for him to access the information in his head without it taking control of him. Though whoever it was that had been controlling him could probably make that an impossible task. But… they hadn't been controlling him since they sent him to that weird Reality. The least he could do was try.

"URR!" Connor yelled in frustration at the devices.

"Connor, we _need_ to do something," Dian pleaded. "Look, let me try-"

"No! I've got this!" he half-yelled. His voice was agitated and stressed; he thought he'd be able to do this. He _had_ to be able to do this.

Dian shook her head at him and gave up. Her eye caught Alex, he looked frozen and in pain. "Alex?" She went up to him and touched his face, after a second he snapped out of it and fell to the ground, his nose bleeding. "Alex? Are you alright?" she panicked.

He was breathing hard. "If the machine I built is destroyed, its link to the anomalies is disconnected. All the anomalies will close if that thing is destroyed," he said.

"Okay… so maybe one of the future creatures will destroy it while they're in there," she suggested.

"No… no I have to do it. I can kill those creatures and destroy the machine." Dian gave him a questioning look. Alex looked over at the Area 51 soldiers, their weapons on a cart… and a dozen TNT sticks with it.

Dian followed his gaze and immediately understood what he was wanting to do. "No! Hell no, Alex! No, no!" she yelled, outraged by the idea. "There is _no_ way!"

"Dian!" He paused, holding her face in his hands and staring into her eyes. "I started this… I caused people to die. There's not much other choice. _I_ started this… me and me alone… and now, I'm gonna finish it. No one else will die because of me."

She shook her head. "No, Alex… no! You can't do this! I need you," she admitted.

He smiled a half smile and laughed once. "No you don't… you need him." He pointed to Connor. "I was just what you were stuck with after you met him… you don't love me anymore. And who am I to stand in the way of you and him having your baby together? You won't miss me." He smiled. "But it's okay; at least I know you loved me… once upon a time. I'll hold on to that. But I don't have anything else to live for, so why not?"

She was stunned. "B-Because, you idiot, you can't just sacrifice yourself when we _can_ find another way!"

Connor finally walked over to them. "What's going on?"

Alex replied before Dian could. "I'm going to take some Dynamite and blow up Area 51. It'll kill the creatures and the machine that opened all these anomalies."

"You're gonna sacrifice yourself?" Connor's eyes widen.

"No! He's not!" Dian yelled.

"Yes," Alex replied, ignoring her. "And I need you, Connor, to help me."

"What? How?"

He got up and whispered in Connor's ear. "Do this for me, Connor… please." Connor paused, thinking, then nodded, his eyes sad knowing what he was about to do. "Thank you; you're a good man." Alex turned back to Dian.

"You're not doing this, Alex. I won't let you," she stated, stubbornly.

"I know you won't, darling… you don't have to." He kissed her lips softly. "I'm _so_ sorry… I love you, Dian."

She was confused for a moment; then she felt Connor come up behind her, grabbing her arm. Her heart beat fast as she realised that Alex was still planning to kill himself. "Alex! Don't… don't you do this!" she pleaded.

He smiled softly and grabbed the box of TNT and something to light them with, the soldiers watching without knowing what was happening. As he walked towards the building, he heard Dian's screaming; it broke his heart hearing her like that. He really wished that wasn't the last thing he'd ever hear.

When he got to the front door of the building, he looked back; Dian was trying desperately to run after him, but Connor was doing exactly what Alex had asked of him; he was keeping her from stopping him. Alex took a deep breath and turned to the big steel door, entering the code that unlocked the automatic lock-down. He heard the locks un-lock and opened the door, shutting it back as quickly as he could. There were thousands of future creatures in the building; they all slowly took notice of him, growling and clicking, and getting into hunting crouches.

Alex took out the lighters he had and dropped them into the TNT crate without hesitation…

As soon as Alex had walked away from her, Dian tried to grab him and stop him; but Connor wrapped his arms around her, restraining her from going anywhere. She tried desperately to escape his grip, but somehow he was stronger than her… though he wasn't really, it must have been that he knew what he had to do and that drove him to be stronger. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get free of Connor's grip.

She watched helplessly as Alex went into the building, crying out for him to stop. A minute after Alex had gone into the building, she stopped struggling against Connor; she waited, expecting the explosion… but it didn't come. Not as soon as she had expected… but _then_ it came. She heard a loud explosion come from the building and it instantly caught in flames, blowing pieces of Area 51 everywhere. They all took cover until the explosions stopped and the building stopped falling.

Connor held her for a moment, then she jerked out of his grip; but she didn't run to the demolished building… she just walked away and sat down on the pavement. Tears ran down her face; she'd known Alex almost her entire life. She'd once loved him, she was going to marry him at one point. She _still_ loved him… just not the same way she used to. Now, it really was more of a best friend sort of love she had for him… or _did_ have… her sobbing got harder as she remembered everything they'd been through.

An hour went by before Connor finally approached Dian, placing his hand on her shoulder as she sat on the ground, but she violently shoved it away. He felt horrible… all he did was sit down next to her, just far enough so that she couldn't hit him; which was probably what she wanted to do.

He didn't know what to do for her. What was he _supposed_ to do after letting her ex-fiancé kill himself practically in front of her? She was going to hate him now.

Connor let another hour go by before standing up and warily approaching Dian. "Dian?" She didn't react. "We have to go. We need to get back to the ARC and make sure it worked." Again, nothing. He sighed and grabbed the Anomaly opening device.

He tried to open an anomaly to get them back to the other reality… but it didn't work. "What?" he whispered to himself, trying it again and again; but nothing was working. Could anomalies not be opened anymore? Was the rift in time sealed? Whatever had happened… it was either really good… or _really_ bad. Connor may not be able to get back home…

* * *

Abby walked through the crowd of people, she needed to do something about this chaos; she wasn't about to let the military take over the ARC. She walked up to the soldier who was obviously in charge and tapped him on the shoulder saying, "Excuse me?"

The short man turned around, his face pale and his hair bright orange. "Yes? Can I help you, Miss?" his asked with an Irish accent and a perfect, malicious smile...

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 11... that's right, 11!**

**I'm getting my touch back, I think. I feel that this is a good chapter and I hope you guys think so too :)**

**Please read, then click ze button down at ze bottom of ze screen zat says "Review story", please! (yuh-huh, I turned french)**

**Hope you're enjoying it :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I do apoligise for the so very long wait... i've been working on my other story "Two is Better Than One" and havn't had much time to write. But, none-the-less, here is the long awaited Chapter 11 of A new World! **

**(And Psst... i'll let you guys in on a little secret... there will be more than 12 chapters this time! I've got some big plans for this story(even if it's only one more than 12 chapters)) ENJOY!**

* * *

Abby didn't speak. She couldn't; there was just something so strange about this man. It was unexplainable, how he made her feel so uneasy. She shook her head, clearing her throat. "Uh… sorry," she said to the man. "I was just… looking for someone," she lied, trying to walk away casually.

Shamus grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Well maybe I can help you find them, then. Who are you looking for?" he asked with his too-perfect smile.

Abby swallowed hard. Something just didn't feel right about this guy. "No… um, it's okay I can find him." She pulled her arm away.

Shamus eyed her, his smile only barely receding. He shrugged. "Alright then. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, though."

She nodded, walking away quickly. She kept looking behind her as she walked, accidently running into Danny in doing so. "Oh! Sorry Danny, I didn't see you," she apologised.

He steadied her. "Whoa. You alright there? Where's the fire?" He chuckled.

She laughed once, shaking her head at the illogical fear she was feeling. "No, it's nothing. Uh…" Her eyes narrowed. "What time is it?"

"About 7:30pm. Why?"

Connor and the others had left about 4 hours ago… they should be back by now, whether they'd succeeded or not. Abby ran to the front door of the ARC, leaving Danny. She stood there for a moment, looking out the door. She noticed… there weren't any anomalies. Maybe Connor had closed them all… but then why hasn't he come back?

Abby turned around, her back to the door, and looked around at the crowd of people. She thought she should probably go tell Lester that Connor's not back… but he's not in charge anymore. What was she supposed to do?

Suddenly someone bumped into her. "Hey!" she started, but then she saw who it was that ran into her. "Mike!" she called. "Mike what are you doing here?" She followed after him as he walked, but he didn't even turn around. "Mike?" She stepped in front of him, making him stop.

Mike stared at her, eyes cold and heartless. Abby was taken aback by his harsh stare. "Mike, are you… are you okay? What's the matter?"

He cleared his throat and his voice came out calm and normal. "I'm fine, Abby. I was just here to…" He thought for a moment. "Help," he lied.

Abby gave him a look. "Okay… well have you heard anything at all from Connor, by chance?"

Mike gritted his teeth, anger swelling inside him at the thought of Connor. He despised him since figuring out that he killed C.; Mike's own father. "No." He tried to keep his voice smooth and calm.

Mike's anger didn't go unnoticed with Abby, but she just nodded. "Alright, let me know if you do hear from him though, I'm worried."

Mike smiled a fake smile. "Yeah… sure." He slipped past her and headed into the crowd of people, out of sight from Abby. He looked over his shoulder to make sure she didn't follow him.

"Hey!" he nearly yelled as someone pulled him from the crowd and into the deserted ARC hallway. Mike spun around, seeing Shamus. "Oh… it's you. What are you doing?" He eyed his clothing. "And what are you _wearing_?"

"Nevermind that; we're in, that's what matters. Now I've got this." Shamus pulled out a large device from his satchel. "It's what we use to blow the place up. I'll set it to a timer here in the corridor and it'll give enough time for me-uh… _us_ to escape," he explained, fumbling on that last bit.

"Wait, what about all the people? Everyone in the ARC? Aren't we going to get them out of here first?" Mike assessed.

Shamus shook his head, half smiling. "No Michael… we're not. I told you before," He put a hand on Mike's shoulder. "These people are the cause of everything. They don't deserve to live… you said you'd trust me, remember?" Mike nodded his head in response. "Then _trust_ me." He let go and smiled reassuringly. "And all will go well."

Mike swallowed hard. He wasn't sure about letting all of these people die… but he was sure that Shamus was right; if he said they deserved to die then they did… "Okay," he confirmed.

"Atta boy!" Shamus patted him on the back and smiled, satisfied.

* * *

"Mr. Temple? It's dark out, you should come with us, we can give you and Miss Brown somewhere to sleep for the night," said one of the Area 51 soldiers that came unharmed in the attack of future predators.

Connor had been trying to get the Anomaly device to work for an hour now. But there was no luck… anomalies couldn't open anymore. The rift in space and time was closed… this was all well and good, but with one big problem- Connor couldn't get back to his own reality. Plus, Alternate Cutter was still back in Connor's reality… so was Alternate Stephen. If anomalies didn't open anymore, this could change the course of history.

"Mr. Temple?" the soldier repeated.

Connor snapped from his thoughts, taking his eyes off the device in his hands. "What? Oh… uh… yeah, just a second." The soldier nodded and walked back to the other soldiers. Connor turned around to Dian who was _still_ sitting on the pavement, now shivering a bit from the cold as night approached.

He walked over to her, taking off his black jacket and putting it around her. She glanced at him, only for a moment, and wrapped the jacket around herself. Then she went back to staring at the ground.

Connor sighed. "Dian…" he complained, sitting down next to her. "Listen, Dian… I know what happened today was… tragic and I'm _so_ sorry. But, staying out here and freezing… isn't going to bring him back." She didn't even look at him. His patients was wearing thin. He grabbed her face and made her look at him. "Dian!"

He looked her in the eyes as he spoke. "I _know_ what you're feeling. I lost Cutter and he was like a brother to me… I know what it feels like to lose someone you care about. But I also know that there is no way you can change the past without doing something you'll regret. And I know that we can either move on or let the pain slowly kill us inside… it's your choice.

But, frankly I won't sit around and watch you do this to yourself! Dian you have to get up and come with me… I'm sorry for what's happened and you can hate me, but don't make yourself miserable over it. He did it to himself… he was happy to do it, don't you see? It was killing him; knowing that you didn't love him.

Dian there was no life he could've had here… he would've just been miserable. Trust me…" He thought about Abby and how he felt when he thought she didn't love him. "I know what it's felt like to love someone and think they don't love you back."

Dian pulled her head out of his grip slowly and sighed. "I know… everything you said is true, Connor." She stood up and smiled. "I forgive you." She looked exhausted and Connor knew that none of this was probably good for the baby.

Connor gave her a quick hug. "Alright let's go, it's getting dark. That soldier said he'd give us a place to sleep tonight. We can, uh… figure everything out later, yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah." They smiled at each other and walked off to the soldiers.

* * *

"No, no, no… I don't care if you're 'Area 51 security', I will not print out paperwork and legal documents about why I gave Dian Brown a shot!" Dr. Scott was saying to Stephen. He'd wanted this from when Dr. Scott had given Dian that shot when her leg was hurt… again.

"Right… need I remind you that I have clearance? And you-" he was interrupted by the beeping of the heart monitor behind them.

Dr. Scott rushed over to Cutter, who was finally waking from his unconscious state. "Now, now," he said to Cutter. "It's alright, Professor Cutter, you're in the hospital; you're okay now."

Cutter looked up at him, confused. "Professor?" he said in a scratchy voice.

"Yes… well you are a professor, are you not? Connor told me…" he trailed off.

Cutter shook his head. "No… I'm not. Where's Dian?" he asked.

Stephen was the one to answer. "She went with Alex and Connor back to our reality to attempt at fixing the anomaly problem we're having. I would have gone with her, sir, if she'd of told me what they were doing."

"Well is she safe? Can you get me there to her?" He tried to get out of the bed.

Dr. Scott pushed him back down. "Oh no, no. You have to stay here, Cutter. You're still wounded… you were shot, remember?"

He remembered Alex shooting him. "Yes… but I have to see my daughter," he demanded.

"Not until you're stabilized," Dr. Scott told him sternly.

Cutter was about to protest, but there was a clatter outside in the hallway that made them all jump, interrupting him. Stephen ran to the door, looking out into the hallway. He spotted Shamus and Mike, and they were setting something up.

Stephen walked towards them. "Can I help you?" he asked, making them both turn and look at him.

Shamus stepped in front of the bomb they'd set on the floor, blocking it from his view. Then he cleared his throat. "Uh, no… we're fine here, just doing a bit of technical work," he said.

Stephen eyed him suspiciously, and then looked at Mike. "What are you doing here, Mike? And who is this?"

"Oh, uh… this is my… Uncle," Mike lied. "He was just… showing some… technical stuff…" Shamus shook his head at Mike's terrible lying.

"What he means is; I'm showing him around the building. Abby Maitland told me to keep him busy while she did some work," Shamus said.

"Right…" Stephen said skeptically. He looked behind Shamus, unexpectedly, and spotted the bomb. His eyes narrowed, he pushed Shamus out of the way just as he said "Now wait a minute…"

Stephen pulled out his gun, pointing it at Shamus. "What the hell are you doing with a bomb?"

Mike intervened. "Stephen! Stop, its not-"

"Mike, go find Abby! Do as I say, alright? You don't understand, just do as I say," he command urgently. Just after that, he felt a hard object hit his head, and everything went black.

Shamus laughed, seeing the object in Mike's hand that he'd knocked Stephen out with. "Very good, lad… now, let's get this finished, shall we?" Mike nodded. Shamus kneeled down next to the bomb, typing in the pass code and staring the bomb on a timer. He stood up, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Now we run?" Mike asked, unsure.

Shamus raised his eyebrows. "We? No, son… I run. You, stay here and fry with the rest of 'em." Before Mike could react, Shamus punched him hard in the face. "Sorry kid… but it was never about you. You were simply and object I saw to use in my quest to destroy what I was paid to destroy. My client pays good money… apparently soldiers get paid a lot." He smiled deviously and ran towards the door to the main room, running into Abby as she came through the door at the same time.

"Whoa… sorry," she said to Shamus. Then she looked past him, seeing Mike slowly moving on the floor and the bomb in front of him. Her eyes narrowed and panic rose in her heart. "What the hell?" Shamus pushed past her, trying to run out of the hallway, but she grabbed him and threw him against the wall. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" she yelled, holding the collar of his shirt in her hands.

Shamus struggled in her grip, smiling innocently. "Now, now… I'm sure we can talk about this," he said calmly.

"Abby," Mike groaned. While she turned her head towards him, Shamus quickly kicked her backwards, against the opposite wall and pulled out a knife, threatening her with it.

Abby stayed back, cautious. She threw out her leg quickly, kicking the knife out of his hand. Then she threw her other leg up, catching him right in the face and rendering him unconscious.

She held her hands out in fists, ready for more of a fight, but when she saw he wasn't conscious, she ran to Mike. "Mike, are you okay?" She helped him up off the floor.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing where Shamus had punched him. "The bomb." He pointed to the counting down bomb.

Abby ran to it. "It needs a pass code! What's the pass code?" She tried punching a few things in, but it didn't work… the clock was down to 30 seconds… 29… 28… 27… 26…

Mike ran through his head, trying to remember what Shamus had typed in. He pushed Abby out of the way, typing something in… but it failed. 19… 18… 17… 16… 15…14… Mike tried something else, but it failed again. 12… 11… 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… He typed frantically, hoping this was the right code. He pressed enter… 2…1…. The bomb beeped frantically, flashing light on the screen, and then stopped… the screen said "Detonation aborted".

Mike let out a deep breath, falling to the floor in relief. He heard Abby let out a breath of relief too. She laughed a little and patted him on the shoulder. "Good job," she told him. "What was this all about, anyway?"

Mike really didn't want to tell her… but obviously Shamus wasn't who he thought he was… he must've been lying the whole time… about everything. "Uh… Abby," he started, sitting up. "This was kind of… my fault," he confessed.

Her eyes went wide. "What? What did you have to do with this?"

He looked guilty, lowering his head and staring at the floor. "Shamus, that man, he told me that Connor…" he paused. "He told me Connor killed my dad. He even had pictures of it… I thought that he was right and I thought I could trust him. He said that the ARC was bad and that it had to be destroyed… so I was helping him. But, then he was going to let me die too… so obviously I just screwed up big time."

Abby swallowed hard. She knew that Connor _did_ kill Mike's dad… but if this is what he was going to do when he found out… it was best if she denied it altogether and never let him know. "No, Mike. You know Connor would never do that."

He looked at her, shameful. "I know… I'm sorry, Abby."

She sighed and grabbed his head, pulling him to her. "It's okay… I'm just glad you're safe. Next time… just ask me, yeah?" They both laughed, but Mike nodded all the same.

"And what are we going to do about him?" Mike asked, pointing to Shamus.

"We'll lock him up… keep him here and get some answers from him," Abby said.

* * *

"Ugh… I hate stupidity!"

"I know sir… you can't trust anyone these days. Of course, you should know that as well as anyone…"

"Where is that stupid Irish idiot anyway? I ask him to one simple thing for me… destroy the ARC. And he can't even do that correctly!"

"It'll be alright Jack… he'll be here."

"Is that so? Well you'd better go and make sure… and tell the other operatives not to muck everything up even more… if their still alive, that is."

"Yes sir," the man left, he was obviously a soldier of Area 51's… but he was wearing ARC soldier clothing…

Jack stood high on the rooftop of a building and muttered to himself. "One day… One day they'll all realise that I was right. It's for the better, you know… and they all said I was crazy. 'Jack Maitland the mental Area 51 soldier' they said… hah! They'll see… once Shamus destroys the ARC, and Helen Cutter has done what she was supposed to… we'll have the natural order in place… and our future will be secure…"

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 12!**

**Here's to hoping it was worth the wait! I did make the chapter longer than most, and answered some good questions! :)**

**If you enjoyed it, or if you didn't, REVIEW and let me know! ;)**

**ONE QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU READERS! I'm taking a poll... what do you guys think; should Connor be with Dian or Abby? We're all thinking it... now tell me what you guys think should happen! I listen real well ;)**

**Thank you for reading! You are all wonderous!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Welcome back! Were you eagerly awaiting this? If not, that's fine. At least you are reading. ;)**

**First off, I want to say that I know this chapter is shorter than usual, but that's the only way I could make it work. Don't worry, chapter 13 is going to come like within the next day or so. **

**Please be patient. I know it's been insanely too long but I have so little time now and my brain has been turned to story mush... let me know if it shows in the chapters, I really hope it doesn't. BUT FEAR NOT! I have my creativity back, I just need more flipping time... haha**

**But all in all, here it is... please enjoy and review. :)**

* * *

A hand came down, striking pain as it smacked across Shamus' already pulsing face. He yelled out in anger and irritation at the pain; this had to be the hundredth time he'd gotten slapped and punched by now.

"Who are you working for?" Alternate Reality Stephen was yelling, leaning on the table in front of him; Shamus was tied to a chair on the opposite side of the table. Stephen had been trying to get him to speak for about half an hour… but so far, the only thing he'd said was, "Piss off, Soldier-boy." And it was really getting on Stephen's last nerve.

Becker walked up to the table next to Stephen. "I don't think he's going to talk." He stated at Stephen, who just glared at him. "What? He's not budging. And if you ask me, we should just shoot him." Becker pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Shamus; the smug smile wiped away from his face for the first time.

Stephen grabbed Becker's arm, making him lower the gun. "Well no one asked you!" he said harshly.

"He won't respond to your little girlish slaps and weak punches," Becker retorted. "But if I was going to shoot him, which you know I would, I'm sure his attitude would change…" Becker stared at Shamus, seeing his reaction.

"Well you know what? You can do what you want when you're asked to interrogate someone… but right now-this is my job. Not yours. Now be a good soldier and get out of here."

"Oh shut up, you're a soldier too."

"Yeah, a better one," Stephen responded. The two soldiers glared at each other, now promptly forgetting about Shamus.

Becker glared at Stephen intently. "You know what? I have half a mind to take this pistol to you right now…"

Stephen smirked. "No, you just have half a mind."

"You little-" Becker started, but Shamus cut him off.

"Oh come on! You two are squabbling like a pair of married idiots!" Shamus said, his Irish accent becoming rather surprising after the long silence he'd provided since he'd been here. "If you want to shoot me, go ahead. I doubt either of you morons could do it… you probably have orders to keep me alive, and you'll obey them like the good little soldier-boys you are," Shamus said, the smug, too-perfect smile reappearing on his face.

Stephen glared at him for a moment, and then said to Becker, "Alright, shoot him."

Becker smiled and pointed his gun at Shamus' head again. "The only orders we were given was to find out who hired you… I'll shoot you if you don't."

Shamus stopped smiling and watched Becker intently. "You're bluffing," he insisted.

"Try me…" Becker challenged, cocking the gun in his hand.

Shamus swallowed, clenching his jaw. "Alright, alright," he started. "I'll tell you what I know… just put the gun away. The stupid money isn't even worth it if I'm dead…" he muttered.

Becker lowered the pistol, but he didn't un-cock it… just in case. "Who hired you and what exactly for?"

Shamus took a deep breath. "Some insane Area 51 soldier named Jack Maitland. He paid me to come here to this reality and destroy the Anomaly Research Centre…among other details. But the goal was to get rid of the ARC and everyone in it… those were my orders."

Becker's eyes narrowed. "Jack Maitland?" He turned to Stephen, since he was an Area 51 soldier himself, he should know who this Jack was. "Do you know who that is?"

Stephen thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes… he's a soldier, as he said; or rather… _was_ a soldier."

"What do you mean?" Becker inquired.

"Well… he had a sort of melt-down a while back and they took him off the force. He was banned from ever coming back to Area 51."

Becker was about to speak, but he was interrupted by the doors to the room opening. Lester came inside with an almost panicked look on his face. "Becker, Stephen? My office. Now," he demanded. He turned around and walked out, expecting them to follow. They did, of course; locking the room door behind them.

Lester walked into his office, followed by Becker and Alternate Stephen. His office was a mess; having been rummaged through by the invading military soldiers. Lester had already called the Prime Minister, telling him that the Anomalies had closed and he could retract his military forces from the ARC, but so far he'd not done so… they were still here, giving people orders and messing with everything around the ARC.

Lester cleared his throat and turned to the two soldiers, feeling it ironic that one was an ARC soldier and one an Area 51 soldier. "As you two know, the future anomalies closed nearly 24 hours ago," he began. "Unfortunately… we have yet to see any sign of Connor Temple. As far as we know, he's still in the Alternate reality."

Becker was the one to speak next. "Why wouldn't he come back straight away?"

"I'm not sure," Lester said. "Perhaps the anomaly opening device he has isn't working. Right now all we can do is wait…"

Becker and Stephen looked at each other, almost glaring. They knew that if Connor didn't open an anomaly back to connect the two realities, Stephen and Cutter couldn't get back, and that could be very bad. But in truth… they had no idea how bad, yet.

Lester was in the middle of a sentence when all of a sudden shots were fired down in the main room of the ARC. Becker and Stephen ran out of the office, Becker pointing his gun.

"Put the gun down!" one of the soldiers that had been sent by the Prime Minister yelled as he pointed his own gun at Becker. The situation was confusing… about half of the Military soldiers had their guns pointed at the ARC workers and even their own, now very confused, fellow soldiers. What exactly was happening here?

The front doors of the ARC opened, the now hostile soldiers making everyone back away for who came through the doors… "Welcome all! To the beginning of absolute… peace," said the man who walked in.

* * *

Abby woke up on a couch in the ARC. After handing Shamus over to Becker, she'd gotten Sarah to take Mike back to the flat, and then she crashed on this couch. It'd been almost 24 hours since the anomalies closed; she figured Connor had to be back by now… but as she walked up to Lester's office and heard the conversation he was having with Becker and Stephen, she realized that wasn't the case.

"What?" she whispered to herself. Abby needed Connor to come back… why wasn't he coming back? Of course what Abby didn't know was that Connor _couldn't_ come back… something she would find out later on.

Abby ducked when she heard a gunshot. Becker came out of the office, running past her. She saw the place start to turn into something of a hostage situation in an instant; the military soldiers being the hostage takers… then the apparent leader of it all came through the front doors.

"Oh my god…" Abby breathed when she saw who walked into the ARC. "Jack?" she said in surprise.

* * *

**TBC in chapter 13!**

**As I said before, next chap. will be coming in the next day or so. It's in the works right as we speak... literally. It's actually sitting here on my desk on my laptop staring me in the face with half a page already written... Dammit, it's mocking me...**

***ahem* so then! Please let me know your thoughts and be awaiting the next chapter soon!**

**Thank you so much for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

Connor woke up to the bright sun shining through the window of the flat. No, it wasn't his flat; it was one that the remaining Area 51 soldiers had let him stay in while he was stuck here. It had now been 8 weeks. Every day of it was spent trying to make the anomalies open again, with absolutely no luck. Connor had started to wonder if he was ever going to go back to his own reality…

He stared up at the ceiling and remembered what happened; the whole thing- Alex killing himself to close all the anomalies and kill the future predators, The look on Dian's face when it happened, the moment after he realized anomalies weren't opening anymore, and the fear that ensued. Every night since it happened, Connor kept dreaming about it.

When he closed his eyes, all he could see were the anomalies and Alex going to sacrifice himself to save everyone. He couldn't stop thinking about how he felt every moment of it. But more so, he couldn't stop wondering how Dian must have felt during it all. If it was like a nightmare that never ended to Connor… then what must it feel like for Dian?

He stirred in the bed, turning over on his side and smiling at the person who lay next to him. Connor stroked Dian's arm with his thumb as she slept. He always felt happy when he was around her. For some reason or another, she gave him hope by just being here. Though, she was always repeatedly saying he has nothing to worry about; that the anomalies will re-open and he'll be back home in no time. Of course, he knew she didn't really believe it entirely; but at least she was trying to make him feel better… and it worked every time.

Although Connor knew he loved Dian in many ways… not a day had gone by here that he didn't think about getting back to Abby at least once. It was different with Abby and Dian; it was like two different ways of loving someone, but Connor couldn't really explain it. Maybe his love for Dian was more like how you love someone in your family… he just wanted to be here with her and protect her.

Connor got out of the bed, careful not to wake Dian, and went into the kitchen to make some tea. Nothing in this universe wanted Connor Temple to have a simple and happy life, he decided. Not only did he have to deal with the insanity of the fact that he loved two women, one of which has no idea about any of it, but he now had to be stranded in this alternate reality with no hope of ever being able to go back home… yes, the universe was definitely playing the cruelest trick on Connor. It hated him, obviously.

"Hey," Dian's voice broke Connor's thoughts as she walked into the room. He turned around to look at her and smiled. His eyes looked down at her slightly bulging stomach; she'd been pregnant for about three months now… Or maybe four months; Connor really didn't know, and he didn't want to ask her because he felt a little weird about it- like he _should_ know but he didn't.

"Hey," he replied. "Want a cuppa?" he asked lightly.

Dian nodded. "Yeah, thanks." She went to sit at the table and saw the Anomaly opening device sitting there as usual. Connor was always working with it; trying anything and everything to get back home. She didn't blame him… he needed to be back home in his own reality. But she quite liked having him here with her constantly. It felt right. She also knew, though, that if the anomalies wouldn't open again… she'd never see her father. Nick Cutter was still in Connor's reality.

Dian laughed a little, thinking about her dad and how he was probably pissing everyone off in the other reality. Although he'd been shot, she was sure that only made him more of a pain in ass to everyone. Her dad wasn't exactly the kindest or most well-tempered person… as a matter of fact he was just the opposite. It made him a respected soldier, but when it came to socially… no one liked him. Despite all his faults…Dian missed her father; she didn't want to think she'd never get to see him again.

* * *

Abby was sitting in the hospital room at the ARC, flipping through a magazine as she sat next to one of the occupied beds. She looked over worriedly at Danny as she'd been doing every day since he'd gone into this coma. She was just thankful she didn't have to see his bandages soaked with blood anymore from where he'd gotten shot… *** _(wait… we have to go back.) ***_

_Two Months ago Jack Maitland from the alternate reality had come to the ARC, his minion Area 51 soldiers that had infiltrated the British military a few years back took all of the ARC hostage. _

_When Abby confronted Jack, he told her what he was planning on doing. He told her he had been working with Helen Cutter and he was continuing her work now that she was dead. She'd convinced him that the ARC destroys the human race in the future and she'd shown him what his realities' future would be like… it was just as horrid, if not worse. He wasn't going to let that happen. So he wanted to kill everyone and everything that had to do with the Anomaly Research Centre. Burn it all to ashes. So he was ready to burn it when someone else interrupted… Here's what happened after that…_

* * *

"I don't think that's a wise idea, Jack," a too-familiar voice called from across the ARC.

Abby turned away from Jack, looking at who had just spoken. For a moment her heart skipped a beat as she saw the perfectly familiar face of Connor Temple… only then did she see the red streak in his hair and the strange, ragged, clothing he was wearing. The happy feeling that she thought she'd gotten Connor back was replaced by utter fear. "C.," she said simply. "But… how? You died… I _saw_ you die!" she yelled, forgetting about Jack-the-homicidal-mental-patient-Maitland.

C. walked through the crowd of gun-toting soldiers-guns that were pointed at him as he walked. "I was," he said to Abby. "Helen Cutter brought me back. I don't know how and frankly… I don't give a shit." Yep… it was C. alright. "But I do have a few things to say to this idiot." He pointed to Jack with one, un-gloved, finger.

Jack looked terrified as he stared at C.; his eyes wide and his breathing quickened. He swallowed hard. "What do you want?"

C. smiled maliciously. "I want to stop you, you idiot. What you're doing is insane and I won't let you do it. There are too many innocent people here." Abby's eyes narrowed in shock. What the hell was he talking about? Acting like he cared. He nearly killed Connor, Dian, and Alt. Cutter.

Jack pulled out a pistol, pointing it at C. "No… I think you've got it all wrong. If you think for a _second_ that I would let you ruin all my hard work!" he paused, letting his anger replace any fear he had. "You've got another thing coming." Jack cocked the pistol, aiming it for C.'s head.

"Hey!" Abby yelled at him. She didn't know what she was doing or why… but she was doing it. Jack looked at her, his eyes narrowed. "Helen Cutter was a psychotic idiot," she began, still having no idea what she was doing. "If you think for a moment that what she told you what true, then you're even crazier than she was." Abby swallowed as she saw an angered look wash across Jack's face. But she kept going. "You know what happened to Helen… she's dead. And if you follow what she was trying to do, then you'll just end up the same. So… quit now, while you're ahead."

Abby saw Jack's narrowed eyes glaring at her, but he wasn't looking directly at her; it was like he was thinking about what she was saying. For a moment she thought she'd convinced him to stop what he was doing. Turns out she was wrong. Jack turned his pistol on her. "I'm really sick of you trying to brainwash me into thinking you are the good guys." He smiled cunningly, so proud of himself. "I'm not going to listen to this anymore… You'll be the first of these people to die, Blondie." In the alternate reality, Jack and Abby were brother and sister, but they'd never known… they'd never even met. Jack would have met her at Area 51, but she died before he came there. So to him, this Abby was just another person that would destroy the future of humanity.

Jack's finger pulled back on the trigger, and before the shot, two people both yelled "No!" at the same time. Then the shot echoed through the ARC, and everything seemed so still. Jack lowered his gun, looking at Abby on the ground. He scoffed, shaking his head. "You idiots," he muttered.

Abby sat up, rubbing her head from where she'd hit it on the floor. She looked at herself- no shot wound. For a second she was confused, but then she saw what had gotten in the way of the bullet… "Danny!" she yelled, scrambling to where he lay on the ground, bleeding and unmoving. She felt his pulse-he was still alive, but unconscious.

C. was watching as Abby made sure Danny was okay. He looked at Jack, who was doing the same; his pistol pointed to the ground. C. ran at him, put his arm around Jack's neck to choke him, grabbed the pistol and held it to Jack's head. C. smiled at himself, saying in Jack's ear, "What now, bitch?" Then he promptly used the other end of the gun to hit Jack with and knock him out.

Abby looked at C. and smiled, but then another gunshot fired in the room. Abby flinched at the sound and watched as C. flew back, hitting the ground. She turned around quickly, seeing that one of Jack's soldiers had shot C. And then a few seconds later, she saw that soldier get shot; she flinched again.

"Holy shit that hurts!" C. yelled, holding his wounded shoulder. He pointed his gun at the crowd of Jack's soldiers. "Unless you want to play a game of 'which of you and how many of you will I shoot before you shoot me', I suggest all of you just drop your guns and let no one else die here today." The soldiers exchanged looks… Then all of them lowered their guns. C. did the same, sighing in relief and pain.

"Are you okay?" Abby asked.

"Oh yeah… I'm bleeding like hell and there's a bullet lodged in my shoulder, but I'm just peachy," He replied sarcastically.

Abby rolled her eyes, standing up and facing the large crowd of terrified people. "If all of you Area 51 soldiers comply with us, then we can send you home safely and we won't hurt your boss. But if you even think about attacking us again… Jack Maitland is dead," she said in a demanding tone. She nodded to some of the waiting Military soldiers, which told them to round up the Area 51 soldiers and restrain them until we could find out what to do with them. Abby figured she would let Lester deal with that…

Becker and Stephen came forward; they had been held down by some of the invading soldiers. Abby looked at them-it was still a little strange seeing Stephen, even though she knew it wasn't the Stephen she knew. "You two take Danny to the infirmary, quickly. He needs medical attention." The two men nodded, picking up the unconscious Danny and taking him away. Abby turned to C., who was still bleeding out. "You should go to the infirmary too. You're going to lose too much blood."

C. looked at her with careless eyes. "Other people were hurt too. You only have one Doctor until your medical team gets here. I'm fine," he insisted.

She glared at him. "I didn't save your ass so that you could bleed out and die," she said sternly. "I almost got shot saving your life. Do me a favor and don't let that have been a waste. Go get medical help… now," she demanded.

C. stared at her and smiled, laughing a little. His smile was a thank you, Abby could tell. He walked off towards the infirmary, leaving Abby alone.

When most everyone had cleared out of the main room, Abby stood there in silence and looked around at the destroyed ARC. She stared at the ADD which was destroyed from when the Future Predator came through. It reminded her that Connor was still gone… and at this time, she didn't know why.

* * *

**And so, two months later….**

Abby put down the magazine with a sigh. She knew that she'd gotten Danny in this condition. He got shot and hit his head, putting him in coma, just to save her life. So all this… this was her fault. She came to visit Danny every day, just waiting for him to wake up from this coma. But it's been two months… the Doctors say that most people by this point will never wake up. That didn't mean she was about to give up on him.

Connor's alternate reality twin, C., came into the hospital room and spotted Abby-his shoulder still had a wrap on it from where he was shot, but the arm sling was finally taken off. "I knew I'd find you here," he said to her. "Mike said he wants you to come sign a reference paper or something… I don't know. He said it was for a job he was applying for." A few days after Jack's threat was eradicated, Mike was brought back to the ARC. He was reunited with his dad, C. Funny thing is… C., being from Area 51 where they had way more advanced technology than here, was able to create a sort of Anomaly opening device-this is when they all realized anomalies could no longer open, and that Connor was stuck in the wrong reality… so were Cutter, Stephen, C., Mike, Jack, all the soldiers, and Shamus. This was a very bad thing…

"Alright," Abby said. "I'll be there in a moment."

C. looked at her intently; he knew she was killing herself about what happened to Danny. "Abby…" he said in Connor's familiar voice. Him just being here was hurting Abby, because she knew that she'd most likely never get _her_ Connor back. "Abby, you can't blame yourself for this." He pointed to Danny. "It was my fault, not yours."

Abby scoffed. "Don't try to put the blame on yourself. He was protecting me, not you."

"Yes, but _you_ were protecting _me_. That's the only reason you were even about to be shot." C. pulled up a chair next to Abby and sat down. "Why didn't you let Jack shoot me?" he asked, sitting on the chair backwards, his arms propped up in front of him on the backing of the seat.

Abby glanced at him, only for a moment. "I don't know," she said honestly.

C. smiled a little bit. "I do. I look too much like your Connor. You wouldn't have been able to bear watching me get killed, because it would have been like seeing him get killed. Now that he's stuck in the other reality, I'm the closest thing you have to him, and you can't stand that. If it came to it again, you'd save my life simply because of that fact. You love him, that's why."

"Shut up," Abby said harshly. "Just shut up, you don't know anything! You don't know _him_!" she yelled. So badly, she wanted Connor to come back to her. She couldn't stand it anymore. "_You_ almost killed him!"

C. was taken slightly aback by Abby's outrage. "Exactly. So why did you let me live?"

Abby knew he was right, but she wasn't going to admit it. "I don't know."

C. sighed. "Alright… if you don't love him, then I suppose I'm wrong. But you saved the life of the person who almost murdered him… so I think you need to figure out why." He got up, putting the chair back where he'd gotten it. "That is… if what I said was wrong." He winked at her before leaving the room.

Of course he'd been right. Abby knew that the only reason she saved C. was because he was the closest thing she had left to Connor. The only thing on her mind now though… what was she going to do if Connor could never come back home?

* * *

**TBC in Chapter 14!**

**So yay, it was a long Chapter. :)**

**Hope you're enjoying the read! Please review, so I can know what's good and what's not.**

**Thanks so much for reading!**


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